What Casey Wants
by iluvarcticmonkeys
Summary: COMPLETE! A freak accident suddenly means Derek can read girls' minds and is surprised to find he doesn't know what they're thinking as well as he thought he once did...he's even more surprised to hear what Casey really thinks of him... DASEY. my first!
1. The Accident

**What Casey Wants **

A/N: Ok, so I've been really really hesitant to write a Dasey fic… I'm always sending out reviews and giving people ideas for stories, but I was always afraid I'd never do the incredible couple justice! But lately I had this story that won't get out of my head so I figured, why not? I hope all those authors out there that I've talked to can help me out on this one, because you guys are my inspiration! Haha, so yeah…I don't know how original the idea is (I got the idea from the movie "what women want"…haha notice the title?) but I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer**: _sigh_ no I don't own LwD and yes I wish I did…along with Michael Seater of course (swoon)…

**Chapter 1: The Accident **

"DER-EK!"

Everyone in the Venturi/McDonald household new that unfortunate sound. They liked to refer to it as "the shot heard 'round the world", because it was usually the beginning of a war… between Casey and Derek.

Lizzie and Edwin hesitantly crept into the kitchen that morning knowing that if they didn't watch their step, they would be dragged into the middle of the daily battle that was currently being fought in the kitchen, usually consisting of pointless topics like "Casey, you're eating MY cereal!" or "Derek, would it kill you to drink from a glass?!" So neither middle child was too surprised at what they saw when they entered the kitchen/battlegrounds.

Derek was on the far end of the island counter, half bent over from the laughter he didn't bother to suppress while on the other end, Casey stood with clenched fists and a face almost as red as her shirt had become.

"You know Case, 'cranberry juice' doesn't really suit you. You're more of an 'autumn'" Derek managed an insult once he got his laughter under control.

"Derek! You just dumped cranberry juice all over my new white shirt!" Casey was barely able to sputter out a response in all her anger.

"Really? Gee, I hadn't noticed!" Derek feigned innocence, but kept that famous smirk plastered to his face.

"THAT'S IT! I'm sick of being the better person in these stupid fights we're always having! You're gonna regret that Venturi…  
Lizzie and Edwin ran for cover upstairs just as Casey lunged for the ketchup that Derek was about to smother his hash browns with and pointed it directly at him. Derek's eyes widened only for a moment, but he never lost a beat, retaining that self-satisfied grin on his face.

"Come on Casey. We both know what I did was a total accident. I mean you could've told me the Klutzilla disease was contagious! You have yourself to blame that I tripped and spilled that juice, because you weren't in proper quarantine."

Casey had a look that said something between "are you kidding me with this garbage??" and "maybe if I stare like this long enough, I'll burn a whole in your head."

That's when she snapped. Before anyone could react to the situation, Derek had been blinded with the ketchup shot into his eyes…and ears and hair. His first instinct was to back away and fast! So he groped the counter for vision and support as he stumbled to the nearest door while Casey continued to shower him in tomato ooze.

Derek found his way towards the laundry room and bolted out the back door shutting it firmly behind him. He used his shirt to wipe the ketchup off his face and hair, all the while muttering under his breath that he would definitely find a way to get Casey for some major payback.

"And I thought your bathroom aim was suffering! Your kitchen aim couldn't hit a 400 pound Moose!"

'Wow Venturi. That was pretty lame.' Derek thought to himself, but he was just happy he got the last word whether Casey could hear him or not.

Derek turned to go back inside when he heard a dreadful noise. The confident click of a lock on the other side of the door and the whisper of an evil laugh from a victorious girl. This was not good. He looked around quickly at his surroundings though he knew them all too well. The Venturis kept their gate locked from the outside and ever since Derek had been sneaking into the Davis' yard to swim in their newly cleaned pool, they had built their fence up to an impossibly high level. He was trapped.

And that's when the storm began. Derek suddenly felt something cold and wet hit his neck and looked up to find millions of raindrops even more suddenly starting to pour down from the sky.

"Just a mist. I'm not giving Casey the satisfaction of begging my way into MY own house." Derek thought to himself. But a bright flash of lightening and a loud crash of thunder brought Derek out of his moody rants and he could only think one thing.  
To hell with pride. He ran to the door and pounded as hard as he could. He might not want to admit it, but he was just a little afraid of thunderstorms. Ok, very afraid.

"Casey, let me in NOW!"

Silence.

"Casey, I'm serious! Dad?! Nora? Edwin? Lizzie? MARTI!"

Crickets.

It just so happened that Nora and George were drowned in the noise of their TV downstairs, Edwin and Lizzie were playing a game upstairs, and Marti was in a magic land somewhere in her room. As for Casey, she was in the kitchen with a fresh shirt and a smile on her face as she fixed her breakfast while listening to Derek's pathetic groveling.

'Well, it is raining a little hard out there. Maybe I should let him in…' but Casey let the thought out of her mind as quick as it had entered, because an even louder voice was convincing her of how much Derek deserved this so she went off with her breakfast to study in her room.

"Perfect!" Derek yelled with a voice dripping in sarcasm.

Just as he was thinking of finding a way to climb over the impossible fence, he didn't even have time to blink before something fierce jolted through his body and he fell to the now muddy ground. Light rain splattered on his lifeless face as the storm mysteriously let up to show him some mercy.

Casey looked at her clock. 'He's been out there for almost an hour, he could get sick. Just suck it up and let him in Casey…' she thought and slowly made her way down the stairs and to the back door. After fumbling with the lock, she swung the door open.

"Ok Derek, you have my permission to-" Casey stopped short at the sight of Derek sprawled out on the ground. "Derek?!" She sprinted towards him.

Somehow, Casey managed to drag Derek's body into the house with the help of a skateboard and was about to call family for help and grab the phone to dial 911 when she heard a faint whimper coming from Derek. She had never been more relieved or happy to hear such a sound!

She quickly bent down, ready to help in any way possible. After all, this was sort of her fault.

"Oh my God, Derek, are you ok? What happened? I am so sorry about this! I should've never locked you out in a storm, I was just so mad! Tell me what happened! Can you move? How did-"

"CASEY", Derek seemed fully awake (and annoyed) and managed to get a word in edgewise, "Chillax. For the sake of my ears, please. I'm fine I just…I don't really know what happened. Something knocked me out I guess. Which wouldn't have happened if I didn't have such a careless princess for a sister…" He muttered the last part under his breath, but he knew she could hear him. Even after a near death experience, Derek Venturi couldn't help but try to get a rise out of his stepsister. He was finally able to admit to himself a little while ago that he liked doing it, because she was pretty cute when she was angry. But he convinced himself that was NOT the only reason. THE Derek like his klutzy stepsister? Ew.

But for once he didn't get the reaction he was looking for. She seemed to have let the comment slide and looked at him with the highest concern. She knew he was right, this was all her fault.

'Oh God Casey, this is all your fault. Derek could've died because of you! I must be the worst person in the world! Well, he seems to be ok. His eyes are wide open…and they're still absolutely gorgeous...'

"Heh, um not that I don't appreciate the compliments Case, I mean I've heard it from every girl, but from you it's a little awkward. And why are you referring to this situation in the third person?"

"Derek, what are you talking about? I haven't said anything."

Cue Derek's confused face. 'What?'

**Ok so this chapter was a little longer than I planned but I just got so excited that I couldn't stop typing haha! Well sorry if anything is dragging but I promise the next chapter will get pretty interesting…And I was gonna go with the whole part in "what women want" where the guy is supposed to be electrocuted in the bathtub but I went with lightning instead! But I would NEVER do that to him in real life. EVER. Also I tried to imply a little Dasey in there but basically I'm just trying to get the first chapter across. Well, Review (I know all the lovely authors I've shared such great reviews with wont let me down…I hope haha)! I'll update soon.  
3, Christina**


	2. Stop the Voices

**What Casey Wants**

A/N: Wow, all I can say is thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I only hope I make the other authors as happy as they made me when I review their stories haha…  
I'm glad you guys like the story so much and I hope I continue to do a good job! I'll try and update as soon as possible…and I know the rest of the family wasn't too much in the last chapter because I wasn't sure how to bring them in yet, but at least they weren't mysteriously missing! Haha Anywayz, on with the story!

**Disclaimer:** I'm not even sure if I have to do this every chapter, but better safe than sorry! Don't own it! Want to! (_cough_ especially Michael Seater _cough_) Moving on…

**Chapter 2: Stop the Voices**

"What are you talking about, Casey? I heard you clear as day - you feel like an awful person…and you think my eyes are gorgeous" Derek muttered the last part rather uncomfortably.

Casey's eyes flashed with a sense of surprise and confusion, which were quickly covered up by a fake look of disgust. "In your dreams Derek! That lightening must've gone right through your brain. I would never say something like that!" She couldn't help sound a little bit uneasy and Derek sensed it right away.

"Whatever" He decided to just let it slip, he had a major headache and didn't feel like willing the brainpower to fight back. "Wait! Lightening?!"

"Well, I assume that's what happened. I mean it is pretty fierce out there…did you feel jolted or anything?"

"Yeah, actually I did." Derek recalled exactly how he felt. "But that's crazy! Wouldn't I be like, dead, or something?"

Casey sighed in mild annoyance. "Apparently not, Derek."

As if slipping out of a dream, Derek came out of his state of confusion and back to his original, cocky self. From sitting, he slowly stood up off the cold, hard ground, with his arms folded and the usual smirk firmly in place. "Well, well, well. I can't _wait_ to tell Dad and Nora about this one. Letting me get electrocuted over some cranberry juice? Oh no, this is definitely school worthy."

"Derek that's not fair! You think I wanted you to die? I mean I hate you and everything, but I'm not a murderer. Look, go ahead and tell Mom and George about this. But I would appreciate it if you kept it at that. I'm already feeling enough guilt." Casey couldn't believe she was almost begging to a guy that had just been struck by lightening. Since when was she the victim here?

Besides a mild flash of hurt in his eyes at the mention of 'I hate you', Derek's face remained with the same smug look of satisfaction that Casey's reputation was held in the palm of his hands. He would never really do that to her again, because like he said, somewhere deep, deep, deep, deep down, he cares for Casey, but it was always fun to watch her squirm. He was mildly interrupted of his thoughts by the sound of Casey's voice.

"I'm sorry, what? You weren't done with your groveling yet?"

"Unless you mean the part where I feel really guilty, no. You're just loving this aren't you? Look, I said I was sorry! Can you please forget about being such a jerk for two seconds and accept my apology?"

Derek could've sworn he heard Casey say something else. Why wouldn't she repeat it? This time he heard her loud and clear.

'Why does he always do this to me? I hate myself for even being able to think I like such an inconsiderate asshole!'

"Excuse me?" Derek seemed a little shocked at the fact that Casey 1) cursed and 2) admitted to _liking_ him.

"I said, could you not be a jerk for two-"

"No, no, after that" He had to make sure he heard her right.

"What do you mean after that? You're freaking me out a little; maybe I should take you to the doctor and get your hearing checked. The lightening could've seriously done something to you."

"Would you stop it? Why are you denying everything when you clearly admitted it out loud to me?"

"And just what did I admit?" Casey was a little confused and tired of whatever game Derek was playing.

Derek let out a grunt of frustration. He was a little tired of this game himself. "Fine, you said, and I quote, 'Why does he always do this to me? I hate myself for even being able to like such an asshole', give or take a few words. And I must admit, Case, I'm rather shocked at your choice of crude vocabulary. But the whole confession wasn't a shocker; I mean what girl doesn't find me irresistible? They just usually leave the whole "asshole" part out though."

Casey couldn't hide the look of pure shock she had on her face. 'Holy crap. Did he just read my mind?' Derek jumped about a mile when he realized he could hear Casey's voice but couldn't see her lips moving.

"Derek, what's wrong with you? I mean ok A) That's disgusting and B) Ew! I never said any of that! You're delusional!! Why did you jump?" Casey hoped her last question would cover up the fact that what she just said was partly a lie, because everyone knew she wasn't the greatest liar in the world. She was still completely baffled at the fact that Derek had practically known every word she was thinking.

'This is really scaring me. Maybe Derek does need help. Lightening has to have after effects! Great, I like a guy and not only is he my _stepbrother_, but I might have caused him severe brain damage for life!'

Derek really freaked at that point. He knew for sure he wasn't hearing things and he also knew for a fact that Casey was not speaking out loud. He started to back away slowly as Casey shot him a bewildered look.****

Just then, Nora came upstairs to grab some more coffee during the commercial break when she noticed the thick tension in the room and the dripping wet teenagers.

"What's the fight about this time? And why are you guys all wet?"

'Sometimes I don't even want to know what's going on when I'm not around. These two can never get along!' Nora thought.

That was what did it for Derek. First he was hearing Casey's thoughts and now Nora's? He had to get out of there. Now.

"Um, nothing. Gotta go." And with that lame excuse, Derek sprinted out of that kitchen as fast as he could to leave a very confused Casey and Nora and ran straight out the front door to head to Sam's house. He had to find someone who could talk some sense into him, because right now he felt like a complete lunatic and his best friend seemed like the only sane option.

Unfortunately, his journey hit an obstacle when he saw Emily outside checking the mail. 'Great…just keep walking and maybe she won't see you' Derek thought lamely.

"Hey Derek!"

'Damn.' "Hey Emily."

"What are you up to?"

"Just heading over to Sam's house."

Derek felt like time was passing slower than his 90-year-old great-grandmother in her wheelchair. He had to get to Sam's house and right now wasn't the perfect opportunity to have small talk with a girl who obsessed over him every second. It was just annoying.

"That's cool" 'Oh my God, could he be any cuter? And could I be any more of a loser? Think of something interesting to say! It's just so hard to think when I look at him… Those eyes…that hair…'

"Ok well nice talking to you Emily. Later." 'Much later' Derek thought as he quickly swerved around Emily and power walked down the sidewalk before she could respond. 'Great, I get to hear Miss Fatal Attraction's thoughts too. This had better be a dream. Or at least temporary. Like it ends now kind of temporary.'

Distracted by his thoughts, he almost passed Sam's house. He ran up to the door and pushed the doorbell – more times than necessary. "Alright, geez, hold your horses." Sam didn't seem too thrilled to have someone attacking his house on a Saturday morning. After what seemed like an eternity, Sam finally opened the door to a frantic Derek who immediately invited himself inside and shut and locked the door.

"Good Morning to you to" Sam wasn't surprised by Derek's uninvited actions (this was practically Derek's second home), but he was a little confused as to why Derek hadn't spoken a word yet and was being very paranoid as he glance out the window as if checking for someone who was about to attack.

"Dude, Derek, are you ok man?" No answer. "Derek" Sam lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ahh!" Derek jumped a mile in the air. Realizing who it was he let out a long breath and sighed in relief. He realized he was acting crazy, but this was a pretty crazy circumstance.  
"Sorry, Sam. What did you say?"

A little shaken up, Sam slowly replied "Is everything ok? You seem really neurotic about something."

Derek started to weigh the pros and cons of telling his friend that he could hear chick's thoughts, but then realized it didn't matter, he just needed some help.

"Dude, you are never gonna believe this…"

**Ok so a little bit of a cliffhanger I guess? Not as good as from the first chapter though haha. Well I hope this chapter was ok, I'm trying to move it along without leaving too much out! It'll get more interesting once I bring all the girls back into the story! Derek can't hide at Sam's forever! And weren't we all thinking the exact same thing as Emily? Man, that Derek Venturi is one incredibly hot guy :) Please review, because I love when you guys send the love!  
xo, Christina**


	3. What Do I Have to Complain About?

**What Casey Wants**

**A/N: **Once again, a huge thanks to all my reviewers! I'm trying to write everyone back and lately I haven't been doing too bad, but maybe next chapter I'll just send shout outs so everyone can know how awesome you guys are! Special thanks to all those authors I've left reviews for…it's totally flattering you guys like my story as much as I love yours! I'm overwhelmed by the compliments from everyone! Haha ok so besides my "Oscar speech" I should just clear up that people's thoughts are in '' and speaking is in "", but you guys seem to already know that! I guess there's not too much to say…sorry if there's any mistakes (I do spell check though!) and hopefully I'll still be able to update as much once school starts tomorrow! Sigh…I said more than necessary…again.  
Oh! Thanks to J-Raja02 for giving me the idea for this chapter's title haha

**Disclaimer: **Like we don't know the drill already. I'm obsessed with Michael Seater and I can't have him or the show, blah, blah, blah…

**Chapter 3: What Do I have to Complain about?**

Derek took a deep breath. He had told the story to Sam in such a rush, he apparently forgot his need of oxygen intake. 'Great. I pretty much threw all my sanity out the window. And Sam's not helping much…did he even hear me?' Derek snapped his fingers in front of his friend's face as if he were hypnotized.

It seemed to work. Sam at least blinked. "Okaaay, so… years worth of hockey games and Babe Raider and this is what happens to your best friend. My Dad _is_ a doctor. Maybe he can help you out buddy-"

"Sam! I'm not crazy ok! Well maybe I am, but you can't just turn me over to the loony bin, I need your help here!"

"Derek, do you even realize what you just told me? I don't get a call everyday for the antidote to mind reading."

Derek rolled his eyes. He had no time to be patient with Sam's little quips right now. "Fine, I'll prove it! Think of something. Anything."

Sam was about to protest, but Derek wouldn't let him speak. "Seriously. Just shut up and do it."

Sam let out a sigh of defeat and decided to play along. 'I can't believe I'm doing this. Fine, let's see…what did I have for breakfast this morning?' Sam got the idea in his head and stared blankly at Derek as he was thinking.

"Well, come on, your mind can't be totally blank!" Derek cried out impatiently. They had stood there for nearly a minute in silence. No one's mind is _that_ blank.

"Well, hate to tell you this bro, but I was actually just thinking of all those pancakes I ate this morning…which I think I'll get back to! Go home and get some rest Derek, we got a game coming up you know." Sam gave Derek a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and strode back to his kitchen, letting Derek see himself out of the house.

For the next half an hour, Derek let his mind wander. He had gone home after being shunned away by Sam and fled to his room with his hands over his ears until he was safely to his room. He was now lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, barely listening to the Postal Service CD playing in the background. His thoughts were nothing new, he was still pretty confused, but at this point he had somewhat of a theory and now he needed to test it out on a personal guinea pig.

"Edwin! Get in here now!" Derek's commands were never unnoticed by Edwin who was in Derek's bedroom within the next 10 seconds.

"What's up bro?" Edwin said casually. It was nothing new to him to be standing at attention while Derek was lazily reclining on his bed. 'Being a middle child sucks. Getting Derek whatever he wants whenever he wants…I need to find myself another day job.'

"Think of something. Now." Derek's tone left no room for hesitation. "Um, I already am" Edwin said, hopeful that Derek wouldn't ask exactly what it was he was thinking. Just because he had stood up to Derek once, doesn't mean it was worth being beat up for again.

Derek listened carefully as Edwin stood there with an amused look on his face. He wasn't sure what was going on and he was unsure of whether he even wanted to know.

After a couple more seconds, Derek snapped out of his trance-like listening phase and casually stated "Ok Ed, you're services are no longer needed. Now go get Lizzie for me."  
Derek was praying this meant the end of his crazy mind reading episode, but he had a feeling the next person to come into his room would prove him wrong.

Lizzie took longer to show up in his room. She had a little more dignity than Edwin and didn't feel it necessary to respond as if she were a dog and come prancing happily to her eldest stepbrother's side. After all of Edwin's pleading she reluctantly and slowly made her way to Derek's room and knocked on the door.

"Well, good thing I didn't hold my breath." She took Derek's annoyed remark as an OK to open the door and did just that as she stood by Derek's bed with a bored and slightly hesitant face. Being called to the great Venturi's room never seemed to be a good thing.

'Come on, just hurry up and tell me whatever I'm sure I don't want to hear so I can get back to practicing my soccer moves! Brothers can be so annoying…' Lizzie thought impatiently.

That was all Derek needed to hear. She _had_ proved him wrong. He could still hear people's thoughts. Well, not everyone's exactly. He could hear what _girls_ were thinking. 'Why?' Derek was irked by this odd specific technique he had developed. "Yeah, thanks Lizzie, you can go." he said distractedly.

"But you didn't even-"

One look from Derek and she knew saying more would just endanger her well being so with a very aggravated sigh she stomped to the door muttering out "Teenagers" before she closed the door rather firmly behind her.

'Ok, so I can hear what girls are thinking. But, why? Ugh, this makes no sense! Wait a second…just because it doesn't make sense, doesn't mean it's not useful.' Derek's eyes widened as soon as he thought what possibilities now lay in his hands. 'Derek, how could you not have thought of this before? You have a great power my friend. This could be pretty interesting…' And with that, he jumped off his bed, completely forgetting how insane it was that he had just inherited powers only seen in movies and how he got them in the first place.

He was headed next door to find a certain person he found particularly fun to annoy when he heard a loud bang coming from Marti's room. Panic set in as he ran towards her room and threw the door open.

Marti was standing in the middle of her room with the most innocent face a little girl could have. However, the chaos in her room didn't seem so innocent. Derek was rather surprised to see a scruffy little four legged creature with the same expression as Marti's written on its face standing next to a pile of broken glass. It was Marti's tea set.

"Smarti, what happened? Are you OK? …Where did this dog come from?" Derek's tone went from one of worry to confusion. He was glad his little sister wasn't hurt, but he was pretty sure this dog shouldn't be here.

'Uh oh.' "What dog, Smerek?" Marti knew she was busted, but she figured her favorite brother could maybe look the other way this time so she wouldn't get in trouble. However, she knew her feign of innocence wasn't too convincing, even for a cute little girl like her. "Are you gonna tell Dad and Nora?" She asked, admitting that she had snuck the dog into the house.

"Smarti…" Derek took a seat next to Marti on the floor and she sat right next to him and looked up at him with her big dough eyes. He could never resist that face! "You know you're not supposed to bring stray animals into the house. Ok, I'll make you a deal kiddo. I won't tell Dad and Nora if you promise to let this little guy go. I'm sure he has a home and he'll find it soon enough." Derek patted the cute little mutt on the head.

Marti looked disappointed, but was never one to argue with her big brother. He always seemed to know what's best for her. That is, when he wasn't telling her how to count wrong or skip every other letter of the alphabet…or telling her that cows quack.

The little girl admitted defeat and finally let out an "Ok Smerek." They both snuck the dog downstairs and let it out the front door to watch it run towards a little girl on the sidewalk that was in tears. "Jack!" The little girl cried happily, bending down to hug her little dog and take him home.

Derek smiled down at his little sister, showing her that the dog was going to be just fine. He could tell that Marti would miss him though so he bent down and gave her a big hug.

'I love you, Smerek.'

"I love you too, Smarti"

Marti pulled back confused. "You're silly! I didn't say anything! But I love you anways Smerek!" And she skipped back up to her bedroom (Derek had already cleaned the tea set mess up before they let the dog go). Derek stood there with a big smile on his face. He was glad to know that someone in this family didn't think badly of him. That's one of the reasons he loved the little kid so much, she never judged him and never hated him.

The good mood his kid sister put him in made him even more eager to get up to Casey's room and tease her like there was no tomorrow. Besides hanging out with Marti, nothing made him happier.

Derek quickly went up the stairs and padded over to Casey's door. Being the polite older brother he is, he knocked before entering. That was the least he could do before he barged in on her and her personal thoughts. Don't think he had forgotten what Casey thought about him earlier. This is one of the reasons he was so eager to bug Casey and see if that's what she was really thinking. He was still in a little bit of denial of what she was thinking earlier. He was the bane of her existence after all.

"Yes?" Casey called out a little impatiently. He could tell she was in her study mode and hated to be disturbed.

'Perfect' Derek thought as he entered Casey's room with that irresistible smirk all the girls went weak for. Everyone except Casey that is…or so he thought.

**I hope that was a good way to end the chapter, kinda cliffy, but promising right? I'm excited to write the next chapter, it'll be lots of fun. I have some ideas floating around I'm eager to get into the story! Ok, so that whole thing with Marti I kinda threw in there, because a) I go weak in the knees every time Derek is around Marti, because he's soooo sweet to her and b) I figured, Marti's a girl and it would be cute to put her thoughts of Derek in this story. I know you wont let me down and you'll hit that little button at the bottom of the screen, because I appreciate your thoughts more than anything! Oh and sorry if the chapter didn't flow as well as I wanted, because I had a lot of distractions haha but the next will be better, promise!**

**XO, Christina**


	4. Please Use Your Powers For Good

**What Casey Wants**

**A/N: **First of all, I want to send out a thank you to Ghostwriter and OverlyDramatic for letting me know I made a slight error in my last chapter. I wrote something about Marti and said that Derek was her stepbrother. Woops! Don't know WHAT I was thinking, because trust me, I'm a huge fan of the show, but like I said earlier, I had distractions! I fixed it though so no biggy…I also wanted to say I am so thrilled that every time I log onto fanfiction, I see more and more Daseys posted each day! We're already past 600 LwD stories! I remember when there was like 20! So that's **awesome**. And so are all my reviewers, I know I said I'd do shout outs, but I've been writing everyone back so maybe next chapter! Sorry I'm ranting again! On with the story, because you guys seem to be dying from the cliffhanger haha…

**Disclaimer: **I freaking love Life with Derek to the max and life sucks, therefore I don't own it. Or Michael…so sad…

**Chapter 4: Please Use Your Powers For Good**

'Please don't be Derek, Please don't be Derek…' Casey's thoughts made Derek smile even wider. So she was trying to avoid him? That only made the game more fun. She looked up hesitantly from her books on the bed as if her mind would will him to be someone else, but her idea failed her and she was looking straight into the face of the one person she loved to hate. And vice versa.

"Hey Grubby. Studying hard I see. What, only 10 textbooks today?" Derek asked in mild shock. Casey was about to snap out a witty retort when she noticed he had begun to search in some of her drawers.

"Derek, what are you doing? Stop going through my stuff!" She cried out in frustration.

"Sorry, I was just, uh, looking for your crazy pills. They gotta be around here somewhere. We all know 15 textbooks is your minimum" Derek wasn't trying for the heavy insults just yet. He didn't care if the ones he was stating now were lame, he was just getting warmed up.

Casey made a great show of rolling her eyes. "Wow _Der_, do those witty one-liners come to you naturally or did you Google comebacks to prepare for this pathetic excuse for a conversation?"

'Thank God he stopped going through my drawers. He almost found my journal!'

Derek's eyes widened with pleasure at this discovery. "What's that look for?" Casey bit out harshly. He snapped out of his thoughtful gaze as if nothing had happened. "You mean besides the look of obvious disgust I get every time I'm forced to cross paths with the ice queen? Nothing."  
"Look, Derek, no one forced you to barge into my room while I'm obviously busy, so why don't you do us both a favor and escort yourself out. _Let_ the door hit you on the butt on your way out." Derek was trying to contain his laughter. He always got a thrill when he and Casey got into these heated arguments. He just couldn't understand why he had only heard one of Casey's thoughts since he came in. A very helpful thought at that…

"As predictable as it is to know that you've thought about the well being of my back end, you're not getting rid of me that easily." Derek decided to make himself comfortable and plopped down in Casey's desk chair. Casey scoffed in disgust at the comment, but tried to ignore him and began to pretend as if she were intensely interested in the historical biography of Mark Twain. Derek didn't mind the silence. It only meant he could hear her thoughts even better…and how right he was.

'Why is he just sitting there? I can't concentrate when he's staring at me. Who am I kidding; I can't concentrate when he's within a 50-foot radius! I refuse to look at him. I _refuse._' Casey's curiosity won her over though, and she quickly glanced up to what she already knew she would see: Derek grinning down at her as smug as ever. She let out a frustrated sigh and tried to continue reading what she wasn't even paying attention to in the first place.

"Am I making you…nervous, Case?" Derek question innocently. Casey flashed her own fake smile back at him. "Gee, what would ever give you that impression?" 'Am I being that obvious?' Casey immediately thought as the question escaped her lips. 'He's really been freaking me out, I mean I'm afraid to even look at him, 'cause he's practically been reading my mind lately.'

Derek realized he should tone it down a bit. Casey was already suspicious. But he was still going to try his best to make her uncomfortable. Just then, he realized how uncomfortable it had become. They were still staring at each other and Casey was looking at him expectantly as if ready to block his next insult.

"Wow, Derek. Nice comeback." Casey almost seemed genuinely disappointed he had stopped speaking. Or at least, that's what he could hear her thinking. 'I wish he'd just say something already. This is already awkward enough. Not that I mind him being here…I just wish we could have a normal conversation. Maybe then I could see why I actually like-'

Just then, Casey's thoughts were interrupted by a high pitched shriek from a little girl downstairs who was announcing that lunch was ready. Both teens were disappointed for different reasons, but broke away from their endless staring contest.

"Well, after you, your highness." Derek bowed very low and allowed her to pass as she just glared at him and huffed down the stairs. He hung back for a few minutes to make sure no one was coming, then quickly rifled through Casey's drawers and grabbed her journal. Suddenly, Derek had a thought. 'Why do I need this? It's probably filled with a bunch of sappy gooey lovey girly stuff. Come on Derek, this is amateur work. You can read girls' _minds. _This is too easy.' Then, overcome with the awful feel of dread that he was doing the right thing, Derek bolted out of there and fast.

He took his usual seat across from Casey and pretended he had no idea that she was trying to peel the flesh off his bones with her eyes. He had other things to think about. Like, what Casey was just about to think before they were interrupted. He was almost sure she was going to say she liked him, but at the same time it was too absurd to even analyze. This was Casey McDonald we're talking about. No one hated him more. All questions left his head when food was placed in front of him. Thoughts could always wait till after lunch.

After an eerily quiet meal, cut only by the heated tension in the room, George decided to break the silence and clear his throat loudly as if ready to announce the Queen was coming in. "Well, um, if no one's busy today, how about we all go see a movie? My treat!" He was willing to say anything to fill the awkward silence. Everyone enthusiastically agreed. Everyone except Casey and Derek.

'Great, a chance to be alone! Finally, some peace from Derek. I don't know if I can deal with him right now. Everything has just been weird today and I'm sure he'll want to discuss blackmailing terms soon. Typical.'

Derek's blank glare became his all-knowing smirk. 'She really thinks I'm just going to leave at such a perfect opportunity?'

"You guys go ahead. I still have a little bit of studying to do." Casey made a lame but believable attempt to stay home.

"Sweetie, all you do is study. Just take a little break and come see a movie with us." Nora felt her daughter needed to get out of the house today. She had seemed a little off since this morning.

"No really, go ahead Mom, I'll be fine." 'Please stop asking me to go!'

Derek felt he could help in the situation. Or at least, what Derek considered helping.  
"Yeah, go ahead Nora. I think I'm gonna stay home too. I really need Casey's help with some homework and I can also keep an eye on the crazy teen for ya." Ok, so maybe not the best excuse from the Lord of the Lies, but he figured any chance to study, his dad and Nora would be thrilled to give him.

Casey scoffed and sat there staring at him, giving him the most annoyed look she could muster. 'Of course! This boy is never going to leave me alone! Ugh, just stop avoiding him! This is ridiculous! Two can play this game. I'm not letting Derek get to me this time. Not like he usually does anyway.'

Derek wasn't really sure what Casey meant by the last part, but was glad she was willing to fight back. Not that it would be a fair battle; he would know the punches she was going to throw in advance. He just couldn't pass up this opportunity.

After much debate from their parents about whether it was safe to leave them alone, they finally agreed on certain terms and the family reluctantly left the pair to fend for themselves.

Casey went to wash the dishes and was scrubbing the first plate when Derek hopped up on the counter next to her. Now was a good a chance as any to get started with the battle.  
But to Derek's disappointment, Casey never looked up or spoke nor did she think too much. She kept her mind busy by a song that was stuck in her head as if shielding her mind from Derek. Then suddenly she stopped washing the dishes and randomly decided to watch some TV.

'Two can play that game, McDonald.' Derek decided as he went out to the living room to resume his reign on _his_ chair. As soon as he plopped down, a pillow smacked him across the face. Caught off guard momentarily, Derek sent a questioning look to the attacker.

"You couldn't let me have one second of peace could you? You've been bugging me all day! If you want to discuss your terms of blackmail then get it over with!" Casey was just rambling. She needed to get rid of him; she couldn't stand the butterflies in her stomach when he was around. 'I really don't want to talk about bribery right now.'

'Funny' Derek thought 'me neither'. So instead, he grabbed another pillow and chucked it at Casey's head. If she wasn't going to talk, neither would he. All he really needed to do anyway was listen and maybe he even had some insane idea this would get her to finish her earlier thought that had been cut short. To add to the little battle, Derek also snatched the remote away from her.

"You are so dead." Casey pounced at the remote to rip it from Derek's grip, but his hockey skills were too fast for her and before she knew it, she was up against a wall, armed with a pillow that she repeatedly swung at her opponent while trying to make a grab for the remote. She was less than victorious.

Derek's arm was getting numb from blocking Casey's attacks so he quickly snatched up her wrists and locked them to her sides. "Now Casey, you're not being very polite." She squirmed with all her might to get out of his clutches. Derek leaned in closer. "Say Uncle" he smirked at her.

'Control yourself, Casey. Just because he's this close to you, does not mean you should have the urge to kiss him. Talk about wrong! But just look at him…no! Where the hell are your senses!'

Derek started to laugh with amusement at Casey's inner battle but then realized how close they actually were. Mere centimeters. And that was just face to face. He already had her body pinned to the wall with his. He wasn't sure what was going on, but the odd feeling in the pit of his stomach, Casey's urge to kiss him, and the look in her eyes scared him and without a word he had grabbed his jacket and was out the door.

**Thanks to funnechick and a song by OK Go for the idea of the chapter title! So this chapter was longer than most I think and I felt it didn't progress as I'd like it to. I didn't reach the idea I thought I would for this chapter but I double promise I will in the next one! That's when I'll have Derek deal with other girls and different problems, which will hopefully be pretty funny! All of course will find their way back to Casey haha. So sorry if I didn't meet expectations but I put a little Dasey in there for you! I kinda got writer's block in the middle of this chapter and watched an episode of LwD to keep me going! Oh and thought I'd throw in one of Derek's semi-sweet moments, like leaving Casey's journal alone, because we all love both sides of Derek ;) Review and let me know if it totally sucked (please lie to me and say no lol)!  
xo, Christina**


	5. Between a Rock and a Crazy Chick

**What Casey Wants**

A/N: Finally! My computer decided to stop being anal-retentive and let me write my story! Haha, Ok maybe I'm just computer retarded and Microsoft Word frustrates me…

Anyhow, I just finished watching "What Women Want", and the Venturian Candidate episode because I needed to find some inspiration and what better place than my muses? I have a couple ideas now thanks to the movie and my reviewers and am ready to share them even if I'm gonna be extremely cranky in the morning from lack of sleep!

**Disclaimer: **I am in no way affiliated with Life with Derek (or Mike ). But that doesn't mean I can't watch it every single night and pretend I am.

**Chapter 5: Between a Rock and a Crazy Chick**

Derek was repeatedly kicking himself in his mind. He didn't know why he ran out and he didn't know where he was walking, but his feet seemed to take on a general direction and he didn't seem to mind.

Thankfully, the streets were pretty empty so he didn't have to worry about closing his ears and humming every time a girl passed him. He just needed some peace and quiet to think. The only problem he did encounter was when he absentmindedly passed by a man and his small dog.

At first, Derek thought the owner was one of those crazy female dog lovers that talked to her little yappy pet as if it were human, but when he took a second to pay attention to his surroundings he realized the owner definitely wasn't speaking and definitely wasn't a girl. 'Around the block _again_? If you're expecting me to do my business, you can forget it. Apparently you haven't checked the present I left in your closet.' Derek looked down at the little dog, which seemed to be the only relevant source of noise.

'You have got to be kidding me…'

After nearly being hit by two cars, because he decided to skip Barney as a child and never looked both ways, he made it in one peace to the local pizza place. He cringed at how overpopulated the joint was and wondered why he had even come, but then he spotted Sam and a few of his other buddies and decided he knew exactly what he needed right now.

"Testosterone!" Derek cried out joyfully and ignored the bewildered onlookers as he went inside and marched up to his friends.

"Yo, D!" all the guys greeted him. Sam grabbed his shoulder and led him to a corner. "So…you feeling ok, man?" he was eager to know if Derek's insane stint was finally over. "Sam, I've never felt better" Derek even threw in a reassuring smirk. Does that boy even know when he's lying anymore?

Derek's male-driven plan failed him and after five attempts of zoning out of the conversation to think about what happened with Casey, he decided he needed to do something else to get her off his mind so he said goodbye the guys for the night. Then he looked around and noticed the place was filled almost entirely with chicks. The only logical thought that came to his mind was in order to get one girl off his mind, he'd focus his attention on another one. At least, that's what he did when he and Kendra finally broke up a couple weeks ago.

He took a spot at his usual booth and waited a mere twelve seconds before the first girl stepped up to the plate. This was how it usually worked; the girls just came to him. He even had a slight advantage that added to his charm tonight with the fact that he had just obtained some mind intruding powers.

"Hi" the girl squeaked out in that giggly, ditzy voice all the girls used when they talked to him. "Is this seat taken?" Derek smiled at her and answered her question with a wave of the hand to the seat across from him. The girl eagerly took a seat.

"I'm Kim. And I already know you, you're Derek Venturi of course." 'Oh my gosh, you are definitely rambling right now, shut up! He probably already thinks you're a stupid waste of time. Now he'll probably never ask me out which means he'll never ask me to be his girlfriend and then we'll never get married! Or if we did, he'd want a divorce immediately.' Derek actually looked frightened for his life.

'I always knew I would end up as one of those 80 year old trailer park ladies with 15 cats, looking out for the next UFO! Oh my gosh, he hates me! I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life because no one loves me!'

Derek coughed loudly to interrupt her thoughts and quickly said "Will you excuse me for a minute Liz? I'll be right back" And without waiting for a response or bothering to remember her name, he leapt out of the booth and scooted over to one at the far end of the restaurant. She didn't even seem to notice. He could still hear her ranting to herself with her (now quieter) crazed self-obsessed thoughts. 'Wow'.

Before he could convince himself that maybe he should just go home, another girl strolled over to his side. She looked like the classic bimbo, but Derek was just hoping she didn't have thoughts of committing suicide because she had a fear of living in a loveless cat trailer.

"Hi Derk" the girl said cluelessly. She bounced into the seat across from Derek and did the only multi-tasking she seemed to be able to do which was twirl her hair and smack her gum.

"It's Derek." He didn't bother to hide the sheer annoyance in his voice. This chick seemed a little too dumb and it didn't really bring out her attractive side. Derek paused to hear if her thoughts were as dumb as her responses and he more or less got the answer to his question. He couldn't hear any actual thinking, but he could've sworn he heard the sound of a tumbleweed blowing through a dry desert.

'Ok, I knew I was shallow, but this is just ridiculous' and with that thought he made up a wild story of how the boy sitting two booths over had a crush on her and wanted to see her. Without even the slightest clue she was being rejected, she shrugged, put on her ditzy smile and went to drain the poor victim's IQ points.

Derek let out an exasperated sigh and let his head bang onto the table as he slumped down in his seat. He was about to get up and leave when he saw yet another girl coming towards him in his peripheral vision. He looked up without the slightest bit of interest, but once he saw the girl, his expression changed. He had to admit, he was attracted to her.

Without even bothering to ask, she slid into the booth and eyed Derek as if he were a piece of meat about to be appraised for value. "So _you're_ the "great" Derek Venturi." She spat as if everyone that drooled over Derek's appearance was retarded. "Natasha." She added with a certain air of importance. 'This guy is lucky to even be in my presence. He's not even that cute.'

Derek was angered by her conceited charade. Who did she think she was talking to him…and thinking to him like that? 'Casey isn't even this mean to me.' And then he realized why he was first attracted to her. Her long brown hair, big blue eyes, and holier-than-thou attitude reminded him of Casey. Well, a really bitchy Casey.

He couldn't take it anymore. Somewhere between his incessant thoughts of Casey, the cheesy jukebox music and the brain draining thoughts these air headed girls were filling the room with, he wanted nothing more than to run from that place screaming for shelter. Seriously, he really didn't want to know when that blonde was getting her period or how that brunette could think that 11 x 11 1111. So he left.

Of course, not before a deep sarcastic bow to Natasha, much like the one he had given Casey. "Later Princess." His insult was directed differently towards her. He was actually trying to genuinely piss her off. Without waiting around for her arrogant comeback or rude thoughts, he casually walked out of the hellhole and headed home. It was getting pretty late now.

He stepped into his house to the sound of blasting angry chick rock coming from Casey's room upstairs. 'I guess the family isn't home yet. And I would probably be correct in thinking that music is directed at me.' As much as he wanted to talk to Casey, he somehow felt nervous, but decided to pass the feeling off as hunger and went to the kitchen.

However, he looked into the fridge to find nothing to his liking. "What am I doing? She's not in the refrigerator." Derek sighed and went out to the living room. He collapsed onto the couch and lay there thinking what he could possibly say to Casey after what had happened.  
'It wasn't that big of a deal, why am I stressing? Oh, maybe because I almost kissed CASEY and then just ran out the door! Well, can you blame me? I mean I never thought in a million years my stepsister would actually _want_ to kiss me, let alone be in such close proximity to me. That's just wrong!' Derek stopped short when he realized that, first of all, he was answering his own questions like some sort of schizoid and secondly, he knew for once that what he was thinking wasn't true.

He didn't think it was wrong. Truth be told, he actually wanted to kiss her and after those less than fortunate encounters with other girls, he realized Casey was smarter than he gave her credit for. But being Derek, he chose reputation over feelings and immediately denied any thoughts that remotely seemed like he might even care for Casey. She was Klutzilla. He was the one and only all-star, Triple D Venturi. It shouldn't and couldn't happen. All the denial and lies wore out Derek's restless mind and he tossed and turned into a deep sleep.

Casey finally came downstairs to grab some water. She was in exercise mode, trying to sweat out all her anger and feelings for Derek. She let out a gasp of surprise when she saw the form lying on the couch. She didn't even know Derek was home. Realizing he was starting to snore, she let out a sigh of relief that she didn't have to face Derek while he was fully functioning. She couldn't deal with it right now. He did look cold though…

As reluctant as she was to do it, Casey got a blanket from upstairs and spread it out over Derek then gently placed a pillow under his head. He looked so sweet when he was asleep.

'You mess with my feelings and I still find you completely adorable. I really hate you sometimes.' Casey sighed and couldn't resist stroking his cheek just once. 'What am I doing?!' "Ugh!" She let out the quietest exasperated sigh she could and went back up to her room.

As soon as Derek heard her receding footsteps and closing door, he opened his eyes and smiled widely to himself before drifting back to sleep.

**Oooo, Derek is so sneaky, faking sleep like that! Haha I thought that would be kinda cute… so I hope you liked some of the scenarios I put in this chapter! I'm gonna have some funny, awkward moments with Emily and of course lots of Dasey in the next chapter! I'll also give shout outs then, cuz right now I gotta get off the computer! But I love you all so please please please review! Oh, special thanks to dwu for reviewing. She is totally brilliant and my fav author. If you read "The Spark", you'll know why. Later gators! **

**Much love, Christina**


	6. Is Everyone in Denial?

**What Casey Wants**

A/N: Ok, I gotta give out some credit where it's due! First of all, thanks to degrassiderikdrake1075844 for the idea of sticking Derek with that total airhead! Shout out to you! I just added girls on from there. Oh, and who else wanted to rip out that Natasha chick's eyeballs? Derek, not cute? NOT POSSIBLE. And now I'll give some quick shout outs to those reviewers who are totally faithful to my story and I love them to death: OverlyDramatic, Chica De Los Ojos Café, Live-Laugh-Lovex3, Ghostwriter, Inulover4eva, funnechick, RAWR-IKICKBUTT, Casaundra Donald, jannikajade, Total Hopeless Romantic, Catdogg, RaspberryLove, msquared, and a BUNCH more people who I'll thank soon haha sorry but I gotta get on with the story…I love you all. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I have remained faithful to this show since the day it aired. But has Michael Seater shown up at my door to give me a marriage proposal and hand me a contract of full legal ownership to this wonderful show? Not yet.

**Chapter 6: Is _everyone_ in denial?**

"Casey…" Derek's dreams seemed to be too good to keep to himself.

"Um, Derek-" before Edwin could think, Derek had reached out and pulled him into a hug so tight, that oxygen was barely recognizable. "Mmmm" Derek mumbled as he continued to hold onto his poor, helpless brother.

"Derek! Wake up! You're choking me!" Edwin managed to gasp out loud enough. The next thing he knew, Derek had dropped him to the ground as he sprang to sit up. "Ed? …What's going on?" He didn't seem awake enough to remember any of the recent events.

Edwin took a deep breath and stood up. "How should I know? We just got home. Nora told me to come wake you up, because we brought home some food. Unless of course, you'd rather continue your dream about Casey…" Edwin knew he was dead as soon as the words left his lips.

Derek couldn't believe what he just heard. Had he been sleep talking? He knew he had been dreaming and remembered something about Casey being in it. He felt warm and fuzzy and he hated it. His guess was he was hugging Casey in his dream…and woke up to find his younger brother in his arms.

Derek never lost his cool in the short amount of time he regained his thought to analyze exactly what just happened here. Giving his brother a threatening look he simply said, "Come again?"

Edwin knew he was lucky for a second chance and decided not to provoke the situation. "Oh, um, nothing. I said dream about…hockey! Yeah, hockey!" he added with as much fake enthusiasm as he could muster.

His older brother realized that if Ed had heard anything, his lips were sealed. Derek raised Edwin right. Always respect your elders.

With a quick glance at his surroundings, Derek noticed they were in the living room. Suddenly, it all came flooding back to him. The pizza place, the insane girls, Casey's hand on his cheek. Slightly flushed at the thought, he quickly got up and headed to the kitchen to leave a very confused, yet grateful Edwin.

Bam! Derek ran head on into exactly whom he wasn't ready to see yet. "Watch it! I know you're starving or whatever, but cavemen must have some sense of decency." Casey bit out as she went to put the food down on the table.

All of a sudden, Derek could feel his inner cocky-self beginning to heat up. He didn't want to start a fight right now, but his brain didn't seem to want to listen. It was like he was programmed to be a jerk at the drop of an insult.

"Excuse me your highness, had I known you were coming I would've laid out the red carpet!" Derek sarcastically spat. "It's ok, I forgive you. You did have to get that food on the table after all and, well, I've noticed how eager you've been to serve to my needs lately." And that's when the smirk began to show up.

If no one was looking, Derek would've slapped himself right then. Was he seriously about to bring this afternoon up? He couldn't help it though; words just came pouring out of his mouth at their own will. Word vomit. 'Why are you doing this? Do you really hate me that much?' He heard her think. Even seeing the embarrassed and enraged look on Casey's face, he continued.

"I mean, you didn't seem to mind this afternoon-" Even a mind reader couldn't see what was going to happen next. Before he could finish his sentence, Casey had dumped every content of mashed potatoes in her serving dish all over the top of Derek's head and ran up to her room just as quickly as it had happened.

Hearing a couple 'What the's' from the thoughts of Nora and Lizzie, he didn't bother to explain as he ran up the steps to try and do a little damage control. Hovering in the doorway, he talked to the door before actually knocking. "Ya know, this is the second food product I've been covered in today thanks to you. You know I'm not edible, right?" Ok so he never said he was the best at damage control.

Then he heard a scoff and 'Is that his idiotic way of apologizing? I can't believe he was awake when I tucked him in and (_shudder)_ touched his cheek. I can't even believe he had the nerve to bring it up! He got what he deserved!'

Derek sighed and rested his forehead on the door. "Casey, I'm not leaving until you open this door."

"Well then, I hope you brought your _own_ pillow and blanket, because you're going to be out there all night!"

He knew this was pointless. He wasn't about to plead to Casey, let alone apologize. He decided it would be best to head off to his room and turn in early for the evening.

Lying on his bed always seemed to jump start a million different thoughts. 'Why do I care if Casey's upset? SHE dumped food on ME. Ok, maybe I didn't have to be such a total dickhead, but since when has that ever stopped me? This is stupid. I'm sure whatever little crush she has on me will be done with soon and I won't be having these retarded f-fee-f-fe-feelings.' He still had some trouble with that word. He couldn't even admit to himself that he might really like the fact that Casey had a crush on him. Denial is not just a river in Egypt, honey.

With less than a good night's sleep, Derek woke up to a blinding sun that he would like nothing more than to rip out of the sky and drown in the ocean. His clock told him it was 1 PM. 'Thank God for the weekend.'

Derek threw on some clothes and decided to head downstairs. He decided to take a brief peak into Casey's room on his way to the stairs. Empty. He went down to the living room and found the family huddled around the TV watching some stupid kids' movie. But still no Casey.

As casual as he could manage to sound he introduced his presence. "Watching Disney animated movies? You guys are aware of how incredibly lame this is, right? Oh, speaking of lame, has anyone seen Casey?"

"Well, good morning to you too, Derek." George greeted him. "I hope you're well rested, you certainly slept in long enough. And I don't know what you're talking about, this is _your_ favorite movie."

Derek decided to ignore the last comment, however true it was. "Sure Dad. I think you confused me with Casey. Where is Klutzilla anyway?" He hoped his family wouldn't notice he had asked for Casey twice now. Marti was smarter than anyone though. 'Smerek and Casey sittin' in a tree…' Derek coughed on air.

"She went to the mall with Emily about an hour ago. I'm not sure why you would care after that fiasco last night" Lizzie replied. 'Jerk.'

"Gee, love you too sis" Derek muttered sarcastically. Just then he realized Lizzie didn't know Derek had heard her "jerk" comment so he quickly covered it up. "I mean you must love me to tell me where she is even though she probably swore you to secrecy. Look, I know you guys want to grill me about what was up yesterday, but it's all good now! Promise!" and with that, Derek headed over to the door to grab his jacket.

'Derek sure has been showing some interest in Casey lately. Oh, but that's ridiculous!' Nora nearly laughed aloud at the thought.

'Yeah, ridiculous.' Derek thought miserably before he was out the door.

This was pathetic. He was practically chasing down his stepsister. But he was sick of this; he wanted some type of answer, an answer to anything. He made sure he put his iPod's headphones securely into place before climbing onto the bus to the mall that was most likely filled with women.

After what seemed an eternity, Derek scrambled off the bus and began his hunt at the entrance to the mall. He glanced in every store he thought she could possibly be hiding in and was about to pass out from exhaustion when he spotted a very familiar someone standing outside the restrooms.

"Emily." Derek called out as he walked towards her.

Emily immediately turned scarlet red at the fact that Derek decided to find her outside of a bathroom, but tried to keep her cool as she smiled at Derek's approaching form.

'It kills me to even see him walk. He's such a God.'

Derek stopped short in front of Emily and chuckled a bit before he regained his composure at the look of her confused and embarrassed face. "Hey, um I thought you were here with Casey. Ditch her already, eh?" he joked.

'Who?' "Oh, um yeah…Oh Casey!" Derek put on a fake surprised expression as if to say, Congratulations Emily, you know your best friend's name! "She's in the bathroom. What are you doing here?" She didn't seem the least bit interested in discussing Casey at this point.

'He'll give every girl the time of day, even the girl he hates in all existence, but he can't manage to try and hold up a conversation with me? What did I do? Oh my gosh, did I brush my teeth this morning?!"

Derek had a sudden pang of déjà vu that he got from a particular other obsessive girl yesterday. He needed a quick plan to deal with Emily so he could just have at least five minutes when Casey came out. And then the light bulb clicked and that charming grin formed and Derek Venturi was back on his a-game.

With a smooth raise of his hand, he swooped an arm around Emily's shoulder and leaned into her as he began to walk her towards the food court. "Well, I was hear to see Casey, but now I'm thinking maybe we could grab some food together." This guy made butter jealous of how slick he was. "I just gotta hit the can real quick, but save me a seat, would ya doll?" He winked at her and Emily had to grip Derek's arm so she wouldn't fall to her knees.

'I knew it, he totally likes me!' "S-sure Derek. I'll just be waiting. Over there." Emily pointed in no specific direction as she began to walk towards some tables, her gaze never leaving Derek's. Sometimes it helps to use your eyes for directional purposes. Derek turned to leave quickly just as Emily had stumbled into a chair.

'That poor girl. I really need to find her a guy.'

He made it back to the restrooms just in time to see Casey coming out into the mall, scrubbing her hands with hand sanitizer. He waited for her to put her weapon away before he cautiously approached her from behind and then he leaned in as close as he could without touching her and whispered in her ear "Why do I have this funny feeling you're trying to avoid me, Case?"

His hot breath gave her chills and she let out a surprised shriek. 'Unbelievable! This town is too small, I would need to run away to Amsterdam to escape Derek!'

"Where's Emily?" She demanded as if he had kidnapped her and sent her off to Mexico.

"She just went to grab a bite to eat" Derek tried his hardest to hold back the laughter. "So you haven't answered my question."

'I don't need to explain myself to him.' "You know, stalking is illegal in all fifty states" and with that declaration, Casey spun on her heel and started to head into the nearest clothing store, but Derek's reflexes immediately snatched her up by the waist. Funny how his reflexes don't work so fast when Casey ever falls off the back of couches.

He whipped her around to face him before she even had a chance to breathe and he had no intention of letting go anytime soon. Not until he got the answers he came for. "Der-ek!"

"Ca-sey!"

"Derek…"

"Casey…"

"Derek!"

"Well, you know I love our little chats, but could we speed things up a bit, this is getting kind of old" Derek smirked at her but he did really want to speed this up; he was starting to get that tingly feeling in his stomach again at the feel of Casey in his arms.

She didn't seem to think it was very funny that she was being forced down to one spot by Derek's very distracting arm.  
'He really, _really_ shouldn't have his arm there. It's driving me insane. _He's_ driving me insane. Focus, Casey! Get any more distracted, and you'd probably lose all senses and just kiss Derek in front of everyone! Wait, what?!'

"Wait, what?!" Derek practically shouted at the same time as Casey thought it. He couldn't even believe Casey would be about to kiss him in front of all these people! In his brief shock, he let go of Casey and though she was surprised at his random outburst, she took the opportunity to duck inside the store.

Derek started to charge after her, but was met with a deafening roar. He slowly looked up to the sign above his head.

**Huge Annual Sale! 75 off EVERYTHING!!**

He looked back down just in time to see that he was running into a huge herd of girls who were practically crawling on the store's walls. The deafening roar he heard were all those thoughts jam-packed into one room. On top of all _that_ noise, they were talking out loud too! The noise was so great, Derek felt like his brain might explode! As much as he wanted to resolve this ridiculous whatever-it-was with Casey, he decided on the best choice and after screaming out like a mad man with his hands clamped tightly over his ears, he fled the scene and didn't stop till he realized he had ran two and a half blocks away from the mall.

"Ok. Now that I've officially lost my sanity in front of half the town's population…I think it's time for plan B." And he really, really didn't want to have to resort to it.

**Don't freak, you'll find out what the plan is soon enough! Though I'm not sure Derek really had a plan A…lol Oh well! So I'm sending a thank you out to batistas number 1 Gurl** **for giving me the idea, you rock. Sorry the kiss hasn't happened yet! I hoped you guys liked the chapter; I had fun writing this one! Any suggestions are more than welcome and I'll be updating soon! Love the reviews, KEEP THEM COMING!  
xo, Christina**


	7. Psychosis Diagnosis

**What Casey Wants**

A/N: Once again, thank you thank you thank you to my lovely reviewers! I could be having the suckiest day ever and then I read your reviews and I feel like doing back flips…if it were possible :) Ok some other things I want to bring up is 1) Sorry if you get random update alerts (when they're _working_), but when I notice an error, I have to fix it! 2) I realized I never said anything about Derek showering after the ketchup AND mashed potatoes incidents, so I'm just going to say to pretend it's implied haha 3) Everyone should go to youtube to watch Dasey videos! They're too cute! I've been watching them since the first Dasey video tribute appeared and I've seen them all! 4) If you're not, read "an acquired taste". B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T. 5) Fridays seem pointless when there are no new LwD episodes…why can't they just air the 3**rd** season already?!

**Disclaimer:** We all know if I owned Life with Derek, it probably wouldn't be on the Disney Channel. Maybe Fox…they allow stepsibling relationships, right?

**Chapter 7: Psychosis Diagnosis**

He felt like a scared little mouse and that was definitely not a position he was used to. Derek stayed locked up in his room for the rest of Sunday avoiding anything remotely resembling Casey. When called to dinner, Derek shoveled food in his mouth at such a frightening frequency, his family was pretty sure he'd die of a clogged artery right then and there.

It was finally time to sleep, but Derek found he couldn't black out as easily as he would like. Casey's thoughts were so loud, they were coming through the wall. And her thoughts weren't exactly helping Derek's mixed emotions right now.

'Why is he avoiding me? This is so…so…un-Derek-like! He made it pretty clear that he doesn't mind stalking _and_ torturing me in public places. So when he finally has the chance to corner me in our private home, he stays locked up in his room? I wonder what he's thinking about right now.'

Derek's exact thoughts were this: 'Casey, would you please,_ SHUT THE HELL UP_? You're not helping this man's current mental state! I have enough to think about!'

As if his prayers were answered, suddenly all he could hear was silence with the exception of some deep, easy breathes coming from the other room. 'Well, that was the fastest display of frantic thoughts to deep sleep I've ever heard.' Derek tried to kick start his thinking in peace now, but found it was too quiet. As if he _missed_ Casey's voice in his head. 'I'm insane. And I'm proving it tomorrow. I'd rather _know_ I'm mental and get some help then live like this for another second.' Derek finally fell asleep, but he wouldn't remember in the morning that the last image that flashed in his mind to lull him to comfort was none other than Casey's.

6:30 AM. Monday morning. Derek's room. BEEEEEEEEEEP!  
Derek's hand reached from out of the abyss of his blankets and groped around for the ear-threatening object. As soon as he got a grip on it, it hit the opposite wall and was needless to say, not very useful to keep time anymore.  
Very, _very_ reluctantly, Derek rolled out of his bed. He grabbed some clothes distractedly from random piles around his room and headed to the bathroom with eyes still squinting from the daylight.

Innocent bystanders were shoved aside as Derek made it clear he was first priority for the bathroom. The door slammed in the angry protestors' faces, but was opened a second later to shoo a very angry Marti out before being slammed shut once more. "You're a meany wienie!"

Casey had been on Derek's mind since the second he woke up. She was all around him, even waiting outside the door now! He did everything he could to clear his head of these crazy thoughts about his stepsister. He did _not _like her. Uh huh, sure, and "something" was in his eye at the end of "The Notebook".

After an eternity of the sound of running water and random bangs, Derek emerged looking pretty much the same as when he had entered. Total bed head gorgeousness.

"Dear Lord, Derek, the rest of the world needs their water supply too you know! You better not have used up all the hot water." Casey wasn't her happiest in the morning. But who really appreciates cuts in line?

"Oh don't worry, Case. I didn't use the hot water." Derek mumbled as he pushed his way past the impatient kids to make his way down to breakfast. If there was one thing that made sense to Derek whenever he was unsure of anything, it was food.

After a total of 3 heaping bowls of cereal, he decided to head to school early. It was a good idea anyway to leave the house before Casey got a chance to corner him in the kitchen.

Derek hesitated at the door to the school. He was about to start his "plan b", even though it was more of a plan of help for himself. He didn't have to do this. Derek sighed. Oh no, he needed to. Damn.

Five minutes passed as he slowly trudged his way to his destination. Soon enough, Derek was standing directly in front of a door with a small plaque just at eye level: **Guidance Counselor.**

Sighing heavily as if walking to the gallows, he forced himself to step inside. Ready to face a torpedo of questions, he strutted confidently into the office about to state his case, when he suddenly realized the person behind the desk didn't resemble Paul at all. In fact, it was a woman. Gee, great.

"Um, you're not Paul" Derek bluntly and rather dumbly acknowledged.

'I see we have a genius on our hands here' the guidance counselor's cynical thoughts were heard loud and clear by Derek who almost shouted in outrage. Just then, she put on her fake, teacher smile and said with all the sugary sweetness a fake voice could contain "Why no, he's stepped out for the day sweetheart! I'm Miss Peterson, but feel free to call me Anna! I'll be subbing for Paul! What's your name, honey?"

Derek cringed at this sudden display of niceness. With a much less than nice tone, he replied "Derek. So, where's Paul? I kinda need to talk to him. I mean, no offense, but I don't really think some chick is gonna solve my problems."

'These stupid high school brats are all the same. I knew I should've taken the teaching job in NY, but _no_, my mother still forces me to live near her even though I'm a full grown woman!' "Well, why don't you try me, sweetie?"

Derek would've said anything to stop the pet names at that point. 'What have I got to lose? Girls are supposed to be "understanding" or whatever. Besides, a counselor is a counselor. I'm not waiting forever to get help on this psychotic disease or whatever I have.'

Derek suddenly cleared his throat and stood up a little straighter, ready to discuss the problem. Then, in an almost exact replica of Anna's voice, Derek mimicked her last thought to a tee "These stupid high school brats are all the same. I knew I should've taken the teaching job in NY, but _no_, my mother still forces me to live near her even though I'm a full grown woman!" After his short impersonation he stood there looking bored as he waited for her shock to kick in.

"How did you? But I didn't… And you just…Oh my!"

Derek just gave a knowing nod before getting down to business. "Ok, look Anne or whatever your name is, I need help to fix this. Like now." He realized he was being less than cordial, but he figured the sooner he got rid of this, the sooner he could stop hearing Casey's thoughts and continue to deny how he was beginning to feel about her.

"Young man, my name is Anna. Now just sit down for a minute. That was certainly a smart trick you just played." The lady let out a nervous laugh. "I mean you couldn't have possibly…"

Derek sighed. If there was one thing he was sick of, it was people thinking he was the boy who cried wolf. "Pick a number."

"Um, ok. Between…?"

"Heck, make it between one and a million for entertainment value."

"Hmmm…"

"68,396…97…98"

Anna jumped out of her chair and starting pacing and ranting in disbelief. Derek could take a nap at the rate this session was going. 'Ok. I can read minds. Whoop dee freakin doo.'

"Look Doc" Derek interrupted her concentrated shock ranting, "I'll make this easy. 1) Saturday morning, I'm hit with a bolt of lightening. 2) I can hear everything girls think, but not guys. 3) I need to get back to normal before my insane new sense of thinking gets me to thinking things I shouldn't be thinking!"

"Ok, ok Derek, just calm down for a second" Anna tried to state calmly. Derek just scoffed. 'Look who's talking.'

'I'm a school guidance counselor. I wasn't trained for this kind of thing! **Sigh**, I knew I should've asked for that raise…'

"Ok, could we please focus on me for a second here instead of your financial issues?! I could obviously use the help!" Derek was almost hysterical.

"Um, ok…ok…" Anna rambled.

"SPIT IT OUT!"

"What do you expect me to say?! It's not like I'm a sci-fi movie expert ok?! I don't know how this is possible. I mean, it's not! But wait…you have this power and you don't want to keep it? What kind of teenage boy are you?" Her topic of discussion shifted rather randomly.

"The kind that actually likes being normal!" Derek couldn't contain himself any longer. "I'm sick of hearing everything Casey is thinking! I mean one minute it's ketchup in the eyes and the next it's like "Oh my God Derek, I think I love you" and so I'm lying on my bed like 'huh?' She's making me crazy, I can't stop thinking about her and my stomach hurts and I don't know whether I want to punch her or kiss her! I mean, what do I do? WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!"

Anna herself didn't know exactly what to do. Her thoughts were somewhere between hiding under her desk and calling security.

"So I'm a man in need and you want to call the cops on me?"

"Stop that! Get out of my head!"

"Oh, like it's some picnic for me!"

"Look Jeremy…"

"Derek!"

"Whatever! I don't know who Casey is or what she has to do with ketchup, but I'm pretty sure whoever she is, she's driving you crazy because you now know that she likes you which you think is _forcing_ you to like her back when the truth is, most guys are completely moronic and can't face the facts that they might actually like the girl back!" What girl hasn't wanted to throw that explanation in a guy's face?

"That's absurd." Derek almost sounded like he believed her and was putting up his denial shield again. "You're crazier than I am! I mean, this is my annoying stepsister, Klutzilla the Grade Grubber! I don't even…I can't…UGH!"

He stormed out of the office and started to head in no specific direction. Class had already started so he didn't care who saw him acting like a mad man. Little did he know, his brain was forcing his feet in the direction of a certain girl's locker. He felt like a delirious mental patient about to execute their escape plan. That's just what he needed though. He needed to formulate the second part of plan b. And that's when Derek completely lost his mind.

He was now consciously heading in the direction his feet were originally taking him and was ready with an (unanalyzed, un-thought out, absurd) idea. He had to test himself and he was about to do what was unthinkable just minutes ago. But he wasn't really thinking, he was just in such a deluded state, he was ready to do whatever it takes to get the old Derek Venturi back and to do that, he needed to know how he felt. Knowing what you're actually feeling seems like a pretty important thing to figure out.

He saw her, but forced himself to keep heading in her direction. No way does triple D back down from a challenge. No matter how scared or nauseous or confused he was. He had to know. He wanted to know. And like the old saying goes: what Derek wants, Derek gets.

Casey had just closed her locker and turned to see Derek storming towards her with a look in his eyes she had definitely never seen before. If she had, it was never this intensely noticeable. She raised her hands in confusion, issuing a hall pass in her right hand. How convenient.

"Derek, are you ok?" Casey asked when Derek stopped abruptly in front of her. He didn't respond. He just stood there staring at her and she stared back, afraid she would lose whatever lame competition Derek was trying to beat her at. He had to do it before he lost his nerve…if he even had any left.

'Now or never Venturi' were Derek's final thoughts before he grabbed Casey's waist that his arm had missed so much and yanked her close. In a blur, he crashed his lips onto hers.

Now see, Derek had only planned this kiss to be a "test" for his plan. A quick peck on the lips and then he could go right to class knowing that this whole thing was absurd and he never had any feelings for Casey. But as soon as he felt her respond and could feel how perfect her lips felt against his, he lost all control of his thoughts. The only conscious thing running through his head was that Casey's lips were on his and her arms were around his neck and he wanted more. He was starving for it.

He roughly backed them into a more secluded corner, never stopping the attack on her lips. It was like an obsession and he couldn't stop himself. Uh oh, he really hadn't planned on this.

'Is this possible? What's going on, Why is he…mmm who cares? _Derek_ is kissing _me._ Thank God people are in their classrooms.'

Derek jumped back so far and so sudden, you would think a snake bit him. What exactly _was _he doing? And practically in public! 'Oh my God. I just made out with Casey.'

As if returning from a zombie state, Derek forced himself to stand straighter and while avoiding Casey's eyes for fear that she would put another trance on him, he walked out the doors and around the corner. Yeah, like he would really go to class and deal with schoolwork after something like that.

Casey was confused, giddy, shocked, angry, and happy all at once. She sank to the floor from the crazy rush going through her head just as the bell rang.  
Subconsciously, she raised a hand to her mouth and brushed her fingers over her stinging lips. She had no idea what the hell just caused what had happened or why he had stormed off. The only thing that came to her mind was one thing: 'Oh my God. I just made out with Derek.'

**THE KISS. I didn't plan on putting it in yet, but I was just struck with the idea so why not go with it? Haha I hope it worked out and you were satisfied with the highly anticipated "plan b"! I'm sure there is going to be a lot of confusion and drama ahead, but that won't be the last kiss! There's just going to be a short vacation till the next one! Ha, sorry I'm evil! I really hope you guys liked this chapter, I always have my doubts at the end of the writing process, but I love when you guys prove me wrong and send me all those wonderful comments! So review por favor and in return, I'll update as soon as I can! I just need an idea! And I've got some pretty good suggestions…so just wait and see what's to come!  
xo, Christina**


	8. Convenient Little Lies

**What Casey Wants**

A/N: I was gonna wait and post another chapter tomorrow in honor of Michael Seater's 20th birthday, but I can't wait and I'll be too busy tomorrow! You guys are so sweet to me, it's ridiculous! I'm lovin' the reviews…hopefully the ideas will come to me and this chapter will be as "awesome" as all the others. Alright, random thoughts aside, here's chapter 8! Wow, this is really moving along!

**Disclaimer: **Do I need to spell it out for you? I don't own Life with Derek, What Women Want, nothing! Except my own crazy ideas. I'm trying to work out the details of my lawsuit for full custody of Michael Seater hehe jk…

**Chapter 8: Convenient Little Lies**

'Just open the door already!' Casey had been standing in front of her house for nearly an hour now, debating whether to actually go inside. She knew Derek was home; it had been hours since he left school and he didn't have any money to go anywhere. Won over by fear, Casey's hand dropped from the doorknob and she angrily forced herself to sit down on the stoop. 'Coward.' She thought bitterly.

He couldn't take it anymore. This was _ridiculous._ Derek was indeed at his house. He was in the living room sitting in his chair, glaring at the door. Ever since he had walked home that day, he had been trying to plan out an excuse to give to Casey for what had happened. He expected her to come home directly after school, barge into the house and start a screaming match with him.

The only screaming Derek could hear from Casey was going on inside her head as he sat there listening to her argue with herself about whether or not to come inside. He was sick of it. After an hour of praying Casey would actually open the door, he jumped up from his chair and marched to the door as soon as he heard Casey admit defeat.

"WOULD YOU GET INSIDE ALREADY?!" Derek's annoyance can build up quite a bit in a 60-minute time frame.

Casey yelped in surprise at the sudden outburst behind her and clumsily stood up and turned around to see Derek standing in the doorway. He jerked his hand towards the living room harshly to emphasize his point.  
Though half of her had the mind to run away from the look on Derek's face, her better half told her she better get inside before he _really_ got mad.

Derek leaned against the door and rolled his eyes as Casey took an eternity to finally step into the house. As soon as she was within clearing distance, he slammed the door shut behind her and stalked off to the kitchen.

Confused and angry, she followed right behind. "What's your problem?" Casey demanded. 

"My problem? _My_ problem? You're the one that's been standing outside in the freezing cold for an hour, arguing with yourself, afraid to even come inside the house!"

"Maybe because I'm a little more than confused right now! You did _kiss_ me after all, you remember that, right Derek? That is, right before you took off like some pansy!"

Derek's face went slack and Casey could practically see the smoke coming from his ears. He would think of an excuse for his episode at school earlier, but right now, it was war.

"What did you just call me?"

Casey automatically took a fearful step back at the tone of Derek's voice. She wouldn't back down though. "You heard me."

'Oh God. Please don't let him kill me.'

Derek outwardly rolled his eyes. "You're such a pathetic, scared little rabbit sometimes."

"At least I don't run away after kissing my stepsister."

Derek froze. How was he supposed to respond to that? She wanted an answer as to why he had kissed her and he didn't have one yet. He frantically searched his brain and said the first thing he could think of to get out of this.

"What can I say? I don't back down from a dare."

Casey's defiant look faltered. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, some of my buddies bet me 50 bucks that I couldn't get you to kiss me. But of course, you caved…just like every other girl at the school." They both winced at the harshness of these words.

Even though Derek could practically see the tears welling in her eyes, he couldn't back down now. Especially since Casey wouldn't admit defeat.

'He's a liar. Why can't he just own up to something for once in his life?' "Ok fine. Show me the money."

'Shit.' "Spent it." The mere inflection in his voice gave it away. It was hard to detect, but Casey was too used to it. She knew he was lying and she was going to milk the situation for as long as she could.

"Really? On what?"

"None of your business."

"Well, if you can't dish out any evidence to support your claim then I refuse to believe that you-" "Oh, what's wrong, Case? Did you actually think I wanted to kiss you or something? Well, sorry to burst your bubble sweetheart, but your just another bet that puts the money in my wallet. So you can go cry or fantasize about me or whatever it is you do with your free time."

If Casey had rammed Derek's head through a glass window at that moment, he wouldn't have blamed her one bit. He didn't want to say it, but he wasn't ready to admit any sort of feelings toward Casey. Had he known how terrible he would feel after he said what he said or how the look on Casey's face would feel like such a punch in the gut, he would've never said it at all.

'And I thought _I_ was the coward.'

Casey didn't have to say it out loud for it to sting. With a tearful and disbelieving look in her eyes, she turned around and stormed up to her room. Derek flinched at the sound of her door slamming shut. He was sure she probably broke a couple pictures in the hallway with that much force along with some person's prized knick-knacks in Norway.

Derek slumped against the counter and slid to the floor as he rested his head in his hands. This was too much to deal with. He hated the fact that he could read girls' minds. It had caused him nothing but trouble. Why couldn't he just go back to the days where he could mock Casey without a care in the world and believe whatever he wanted to believe about what girls were actually thinking? He couldn't take it another second.

As if possessed, Derek ran up to the bathroom and threw open the cabinet under the sink in a mad search for the blow dryer. He yanked it from the tangled mess and walked over to the bathtub, turning the water on full blast. He prayed like hell this would work or else he was totally screwed.

As soon as there seemed to be enough water to suit the cause, he plugged the blow dryer in, stuck his foot in the tub and slammed his eyes shut in fear and anticipation as he placed his finger on the power button.

Derek felt a familiar jolt go through his body as he blacked out once more and fell in a heap to the floor.

"Derek!!"

He could hear the voice but he couldn't manage to open his eyes. The next thing he knew, he could feel someone's all too familiar lips press against his.

"WHOA!" Derek was awake now and quickly scrambled to sit up as he backed away from Casey towards the edge of the bathtub. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Casey's look of relief that Derek wasn't dead quickly faded into anger. "I was giving you CPR so you wouldn't die you idiot! I appreciate the thankfulness you have that I just saved your life! What the hell were you thinking anyway? Were you trying to kill yourself?!"

Then it dawned on Derek exactly what happened. 'Did it work?? I need a test!' He looked at Casey and just sat there trying to listen. Nothing. Suddenly, he started grinning like an idiot and was about to let out a triumphant yell when-

'Next time, I'll just let him die. Screw my conscience.'

"No! No, no, no, no, no!!" Derek seemed to be throwing somewhat of a tantrum and Casey wasn't about to stand for it.

"No what? What are you yelling about?!"

"Why of all places were you put in my house? I'd rather be under Chinese water torture for the rest of my life then be under this roof another second with you…you and your feelings! Do you realize what you're doing to me?!"

"That's it! You kiss me and then you lie about it and now I just saved your life and you could care less! You really do hate me! I should've just left you here Derek. I should've just…" Casey's tears cut her off and she ran out of the bathroom to lock herself up in her room once again.

That's when it hit him. He could electrocute himself all he wanted, but it wouldn't prevent the fact that he knew how Casey felt about him or cover up how much of a dick he had been. Or hide the fact that he, Derek Venturi, Hockey God, Most Wanted Guy in School, liked Casey.

'Oh, no.'

Derek's eyes widened in horror at this shocking admittance to himself and he sent himself back into his spastic 2-year-old tantrum.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

**OK, sorry I'm gonna leave this a little short but I have to go get ready cuz my bff's coming over! I hope you guys liked this, it was a little crazy, but this whole situation is kinda insane! So Derek is a jerk, he stupidly tries to reverse his mind reading abilities, he's a jerk again and now he's a sucker. Haha. So not much comedy, but it needed to get a little serious I guess. Next chapter will be awesome, this is just kind of an intro! Love you guys!  
xo, Christina**

****


	9. The Ultimate Damage Control

**What Casey Wants**

A/N: _HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY MICHAEL SEATER!_  
Yay! It's my love's birthday…  
Anywayz, I apparently have to do some damage control with this chapter. A lot of you have replied very strongly to the last chapter with a LOT of hate towards Derek! But that's good, you guys are really responding to the story! Although, since I don't want you guys to hate Derek on Mike's birthday, I'm gonna make him redeem himself in this chapter! I hope you guys love it, cuz I have a few cute ideas up my sleeve… I'll prove he's not a TOTAL dick ;-)

**Disclaimer: **If I owned LwD today (which I don't) I'd give Mike the best birthday party EVER!!! And maybe a birthday kiss? Hmmm haha. Oh, and I don't own any songs or movies mentioned in the story!

**Chapter 9: The Ultimate Damage Control**

The tile floor was really starting to hurt. Derek wasn't sure how long he sat in that same spot after his little episode. Minutes? Hours? All he could say was, his butt was pretty numb.

Not that he was thinking too much about his physical position. He was far too fixed on his mental state of being. He couldn't count how many times he replayed the scenes in his head. The overly heated fights, his crazy stunt, his cringe worthy harsh comments, the look on Casey's face…

'Could I suck at life any_ more?_ Well, you could march into Casey's room and slap her across the face. I mean, that is what you just did after all. Wow. I really screwed this one up. It took me 1 year, endless attempts at failing Casey's relationships, countless insults, and 3 days of mind reading to come to the exact conclusion I knew I was avoiding. I'm totally hot for Casey. You really are a _genius_, Derek.'

He had no clue how to fix this. And this time he really wanted to, more than any of the other times where he had helped Casey out and told himself it was for "charity". He needed something Earth shaking this time.

As he continued to sit on the bathroom floor and stare off into space, he was well aware that Casey was playing every 'I hate you Derek Venturi' song she had in her CD collection. Most of it consisted of Avril Lavigne.  
This was bad. He had never heard her repeat a hateful CD more than once when she was mad at Derek and he was pretty sure he had heard track one over 4 times. One thing was for sure: he wasn't accomplishing anything by sitting there.

With no clue of where to go first, he decided to head to his room. Actually, all he really wanted to do was pass by Casey's door. His heart practically strangled him to death when he stopped at her door. The CD had finally ended and all he could hear was crying and what sounded like buckets of tears. He couldn't even hear her thoughts over the sobbing. What he could hear was what he thought to be the sound of packing. Had it really gone this far? Derek almost felt like this was some crazy romance drama he got thrown into by accident. But things couldn't be fixed as easily in the movies…or could they?

'Perfect.' Derek thought as the light bulb went off in his head. And this time, there wasn't a trace of sarcasm to the word.

He ran to his room and roughly grabbed his guitar and amp and dragged them down the stairs as he raced to the back door. Plugging in all the necessary equipment, he left them out in the backyard as he ran back inside and up the steps, halting abruptly at Casey's bedroom door.

Forcing himself to muster up the guts, he lightly knocked on her door. The crying instantly stopped, but she didn't respond. Not out loud anyway.

'I really hope that's my mom. Maybe I can get her to give me a loan so I can move out properly. Let's see…where can I go to put as much distance between me and Derek as possible? Australia? No…I should look into Pluto.'

Derek heard her footsteps shuffling to the door. He didn't care who she thought it was, he just had to get her to open the door. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped as Casey paused to look up at the clock.

'Wait. It's too early for anyone to be home. **Sigh** Derek. What, did he forget to rip my heart out through my throat? He can rot out there for all I care. It's gone way too far this time. I have to finish packing.'

Derek banged his head against the door as all hopefulness left the situation. But he couldn't give up. He owed her that much. Um, yeah try more like owing her the _world _for having to put up with you.

Growing more confident at his actions, he knocked louder on the door. No answer. He knocked again and this time he was pretty sure the Davis' could hear it. 'Easy there. You want her to open the door, not blockade it with her mattress.'

After the last knock there was a pause before Casey screamed out something a little less than appropriate. "Casey, pleeease let me in." Oh, God, was he begging?

"What are you, _deaf?!_ I said to-"

"Yeah…um yeah I heard you the first time."

Derek didn't think it was necessary to hear such an "extensive" vocabulary from someone as beautiful as Casey. Though she had every right to scream, punch and even shoot him if she felt the need. He was so low to her right now, it didn't even register to her that he was in the same dimension.

He really hoped she would somewhat appreciate what he said next. He'd only said it once before and denied it just as quickly, but right now he would scream it from the roof if he had to. Ok maybe that was a little too cheesy for him, but the point has been made.

"Casey-" He sounded weak so he cleared his throat before letting the words out. "I'm…I'm sorry."

He heard a scoff inside her room. 'Ha! Are you kidding me?! Oh goodness, Derek just said the "s" word, let's all bow down and forgive him! Not if I were being tortured in a gas chamber.'

"Here's a tip for you Derek. When every other word out of someone's mouth is a lie, something so simple isn't going to even make a scratch. A tiger can't change his stripes, _Der_." She spat at the door between them.

Great. Not only did she hate him, she also thinks he's lying about the only real apology he's ever made. Somehow he wasn't surprised. Everything was a challenge when it came to Casey. Hello, that was the whole reason he became attracted to her!

It was time to bring out the heavy artillery. If Derek was asked to name the top 5 things he knew about Casey, his list would consist of this:

1) She's a total klutz.  
2) When she's angry, her eyes fire up and become the deepest and most gorgeous shade of blue he's ever seen. She's also completely adorable when she's mad.  
3) She a grade grubbing neat freak.  
4) She's strong. Stronger than Derek could hope to be. He really admired her for that.  
5) One of her favorite movies is "A Lot Like Love".

And it was for reason five that he was about to attempt his next stunt. He just hoped it really _did _work out like in the movies. Or at least get her to talk to him?

He could've sworn he heard the sound of a suitcase latching and with that, he sprinted for the backyard. He turned on his amp and cranked up every volume control within reach to full blast. He bent down and picked up a couple rocks and chucked them at Casey's window. He saw a brighter light flicker on behind the sheer curtains and a shadow slowly approaching. Casey moved the curtains to the side and glared down at Derek. She threw open the window and yelled out "Oh, I'm sorry, did you forget to sabotage my bedroom window too?" Glad to know he finally had her attention, he began playing his guitar.

Needless to say, it was LOUD. Though this was an act of affection, he knew it would annoy her, but only to the point to get her to come outside. He even threw in that smirk to further pull at her nerves. Casey was screaming at him, but no one could hear her over the music.

'UGH! I'll go down there and shut the damn thing off myself then! Asshole…'

Derek saw Casey stomp out of her room and smiled. She was coming down, exactly as his plan had hoped for. He had a feeling Plan C was a lot better constructed then previous failed attempts at a "plan".

Casey whipped the back door open and was about to attack Derek when she froze. She would recognize that song anywhere. Derek almost laughed at the wide-eyed expression on her face. 'Is he seriously about to-?'

Before he lost his nerve, he went for it. Derek began to play the chords more confidently and took a deep breath before he started to sing:

**I guess this time you're really leaving.  
I heard your suitcase say goodbye.  
And as my broken heart lies bleeding,   
You say true love is suicide.**

"Derek, what are you-?"

Derek held a distracted hand up. "Just don't say anything or I'll lose my nerve."

Casey could feel a small smile tugging at her lips, but an even greater need for tears. She couldn't understand how he could be doing something so sweet. All right, who is this and what did he do with Derek?

**You say you've cried a thousand rivers**  
**And now you're swimming for the shore.  
You left me drowning in my tears  
And you won't save me anymore.**

Suddenly, Derek stopped playing and held his arms out wide, grinning like an idiot.

"**I'm praying to God you'll give me one more chance girl!"**

Casey began to laugh with joy as she stood there looking intently at Derek who was making a complete idiot out of himself just to recreate her favorite movie. He began to play again.

**I'll be there for you, these five words I swear to you.  
When you breathe, I wanna be the air for you.  
I'll be there for you.  
I'd live and I'd die for you.  
I'd steal the sun from the sky for you.   
Words can't say what love can do.  
I'll be there for you.**

Derek made a dramatic yet comedic attempt at a little guitar solo to close the song off. When the last chord stopped sounding, he looked up and smiled at Casey. An honest to God, genuine smile.

To his embarrassment, an eruption of applause broke out from the houses around theirs, as people leaned out their windows to catch a glimpse of the girl's reaction to his overwhelming display of affection.

Both blushing, they glanced at each other. The whole neighborhood was peering out their backyard windows to see what would happen next. Pressure's on.

"So…" Derek began. "I know I might be a little late with this, give or take a year, but I'd say that was well worth the wait." Derek reached up and popped his collar for dramatic effect.

Sustaining herself from an even more dramatic eye-roll, Casey looked at Derek as if he were replaced by his (much nicer) twin brother.

"Derek…I- I just" she took a sharp breathe to get her thoughts in order. "Sometimes I really don't understand you. Like, at all." She threw up her hands in confusion and shook her head, bewildered yet all the while flattered.

Derek couldn't help the smirk that came over his face. Once he started it, it was pretty much a habit he couldn't control. He took his guitar off and set it by his amp as he switched the power off. Turning back to Casey he took three large steps towards her so he was just inches away, staring intently down at her, stupid smirk and all.

"That's kind of our story isn't it?"

Casey outwardly rolled her eyes this time as she tried to conceal a grin from Derek. Nice try. It slipped out and without thinking she reached out and pulled Derek into a hug. Both just stood tightly in the embrace, breathing each other in, lost in some other world when suddenly they heard "Kiss her already!!"

The both laughed nervously as Casey backed away and Derek scratched the back of his neck. Easy to forget the whole neighborhood is watching your every move.

Then, Casey stepped back towards Derek and he looked up hopefully, but was only met with a peck on the cheek. The crowd groaned and went back inside at this anti-climatic display. Derek didn't feel totally hopeless though.

"So does this mean you might possibly consider the thought of forgiving me?" He looked at her expectantly.

With a pondering look on her face, she let out a smile and simply said, "I'm thinking about it."

Derek smiled too. But then, "Wait, did you just say you're thinking about it? As in you're mind is churning out thoughts this very second?"

"Well, yeah Derek. I know you can switch off _your_ brain, but it doesn't come so easily for me."

Casey laughed at her little insult, ready to counter whatever insult Derek threw back at her. She enjoyed the fighting when it was innocent enough, but Derek just stood there with a look on his face as if he were straining to hear a pin drop from a mile away.

Casey stopped talking and all Derek could hear was silence. Pure, golden silence.

**Didn't I tell you I'd make up for Derek's jerkiness? I pretty much let an "awe" escape my lips as I wrote this haha. I really hope you guys thought it was just as cute! Of course, I'm not done, and I'll have more chapters up soon, all equally thrilling!  
Once again, Happy Happy Happy Birthday to Mikey and thanks again to all my reviewers! I'm counting on you guys to bring that smile to my face that you always do when you hit that little button! Peace! Xo, Christina**

****


	10. Straightjacket Feeling

**What Casey Wants**

A/N: Ahh, my stomach hurts! But I need to update so I'm gonna be inspired through the pain! Haha I just watched more new Dasey videos on youtube and I have to say that I LOVED the "attack" one by Inulover4eva! I also saw this video that had what looked like a "whipped cream" scene from the party episode…I've seen that scene in tribute videos before and I'd like to ask all you Canadians what happened in that scene, cuz the US is stupid and didn't show it!! Anywayz, here's the next chapter. Random ideas swimming in my head…let me know whatcha think! You seemed to really like the last chapter! Yay! Thank you guys!

**Disclaimer: **Michael Seater is MINE. (ok not really **tears**) Don't own LwD. (more tears) Oh and I don't own the song for the chapter title (by The All-American Rejects)!

**Chapter 10: Straightjacket Feeling**

"Derek" Casey sighed. "I don't know how to say this, but…I think we need some space."

Derek was still leaning in to hear any inkling of a thought. He hadn't realized that he kept inching towards her till he could practically feel her lips brush against his ear. Shivering, he suddenly jumped back realizing how awkward this must be. "Heh, um sorry."

Casey just looked at him weird before grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the house. "It's ok, it's just I think we should get inside. It's _freezing_ out here…and I don't want hypothermia to further damage your mental state" she stuck her tongue out at him and ran inside just in time to duck an incoming guitar pick.

Derek let out a happy sigh before following Casey back inside the house. "So…wanna watch a movie or something?" Casey laughed and Derek just sent her a look as if she were trying to offend him.

"Actually Casanova, I think I'm gonna head off to bed."

"Why? It's only-" Derek took a minute to actually _look_ outside from the kitchen window and realized it was really dark outside. He must not have noticed with all the bright streetlights in the neighborhood. He thought it had been barely 7 o'clock. Then he looked to the microwave for the time and saw the numbers 12:06 AM glaring back at him. 'Whoa. How much time _did _I spend in the bathroom?'

As if reading his mind, Casey answered "I didn't come to your rescue after that bathroom stunt right away you know. Mom and George came home after work with the kids and after a little while they left. The kids went to their friends' houses and our parents went out to dinner and a movie. They said they wouldn't be back till late."

"Glad to know you took your time and let me inch closer to death!" Derek cried out mockingly.

"Yeah, I thought you'd appreciate that" Casey did her typical eye roll. "Can you blame me for not checking up on you? Even if I had known what happened, I doubt I would've came to help you right away."

"Ouch. But I guess I deserved that." Derek gave a knowing nod. "Wow, our neighbors must hate us. No wonder they were all in their pajamas…"

"Well, what else is new? A midnight concert can only add so much anger when George has already rammed into every parked car on the street."

They both just looked at each other. Then burst out laughing.

Both teenagers woke up the next morning with a smile on their face. Who cares that it was a school day and they had approximately 3 hours of sleep? After Derek's realization of the time frame last night, they each said goodnight and went off to bed, knowing that they would never be able to sleep without replaying the night's events.

Casey rolled out of bed and gathered up her clothes as she headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Before her hand was on the knob, she heard someone behind her yell out "Cuts, Buts, Coconuts!" and in a flash, Derek had snaked around her and slammed the door in her face. Casey huffed. "Der-ek!" Some things never change.

"Good Morning", Nora greeted Derek as he came downstairs groggily to join the rest of the family for breakfast.

"It is?" he muttered in response.

'Why did I ever worry about things being different. I'm actually kind of glad Derek is still…well, Derek.'

"Well thanks, sis! You don't want me to return the backhanded compliment, do you?"

"Ha! As if I'd ever compliment _you._ You're hearing those voices again Captain Space Cadet." Casey laughed awkwardly at Derek's random comment.

"What are you-" Derek was about to ask what game she was getting at when suddenly he heard:

'What's my favorite color today? Hmmm, yesterday was purple day. It's time for orange!'

Marti was skipping around the kitchen without a trace of audible dialogue, which was completely understandable since her mouth was stuffed full of a breakfast PB&J sandwich.

Derek's face fell and the bacon he just shoved into his mouth fell back onto his plate. 'Not. Again.'

His house was once again a swirling headache of girl thoughts. Before he lost what little food he had managed to get down, he scurried out of there and headed off to school with barely a whisper to the rest of the family. 'How is this possible? I was there last night. Casey was thinking and I heard _nothing._'

Derek mentally retraced his steps as he approached the school. When he walked in, he was so distracted he didn't even notice that everyone was looking in his direction. Not that it was too unusual, he is Derek after all.

"Hey, Derek." Sam greeted his friend in a voice almost filled with fear. "Look, before you blame me for this, I didn't say a word. I mean, it was just a joke, right?"

Derek blinked at Sam as if he were seeing him for the first time. Then he registered that Sam was actually speaking to him. "What? Blame you? For what, what are you talking about?" He had a lot of thoughts to mull over, now wasn't the time to beat around the bush with anything.

"You mean you don't know?" Sam took a deep breath as if he were about to tell a cancer patient how many days they had left. "Well…it might be possible that a small rumor is circulating about you and your, um…ability to read girls' minds." Sam winced as if expecting a blow to the head.

"WHAT?!" Derek didn't even wait for Sam to say more. With a look to kill, he stalked straight to the guidance office.

"Does student-teacher confidentiality mean _anything_ to you?!" Derek yelled as he shoved the door open. Miss Peterson was in mid-bite of her turkey sandwich, which was quickly dropped as she leaped out of her chair in fright.

"Oh. Hello, Derek. What seems to be the problem?"

Derek let out a laugh that didn't contain a trace of humor. "What's the problem? Hmm, let's see. The whole school thinks I'm insane, because_somebody_, who shall remain nameless" Derek pointed an accusing finger at her and coughed loudly, "told the _entire student body_ that I'm CRAZY!"

"Ok! Let's just take some deep breaths and talk about this. I didn't mean to-"

"You didn't mean to what? Knock over my entire reputation with an insanity bulldozer?!"

His tone was so threatening she began to back away only to run into her desk with a startling thump. She sat against her desk, trying to think of something to say. 'Ok, just tell him it slipped. I mean, if I tell him I purposefully brought it up in a staff meeting for jokes and the staff told all the students, I'm pretty sure he'd chop my head off.'

"You told the staff?!"

"Oh wow. I forgot you could hear that."

Derek shot her an obvious 'uh DUH' look before yelling exasperatedly "Well gee, that's kind of what this ENTIRE situation is about!"

"Listen young man!" Anna sat up straighter trying to regain authority. "I don't appreciate your hostility! If anything, I've raised the bar on your popularity level! Who wouldn't be interested in a guy that can read girls' minds 24/7?" She hoped the subject of his status would lighten him up a little. Derek did love his reputation after all.

"That's beside the-" Derek stopped short. He remembered last night when he couldn't hear the thoughts anymore. It also reminded him of the time when he was lying in bed trying to sleep and Casey's thoughts had stopped abruptly. "Wait a second. Wait a second! I think I figured it out!"

"Um, congratulations?" Anna would say anything to divert the anger away from her.

Derek rolled his eyes and hurriedly explained. "Last night, I couldn't hear Casey's thoughts! I thought I was cured, but then this morning I wake up to 'color coordination' this and 'PMSing that'. At first I thought there was no sanity left, but now I realized there's a common element in all of this!"

'Spit it out kid!' Anna made an impatient motion as if to say "Well?"

"Midnight! Every thought I can hear vanishes at the stroke of 12!" Derek suddenly looked as if he might hurl and plopped himself into one of the chairs. "Oh my God. I'm Cinderella." 'Talk about insulting my tough guy rep. Is my fairy godmother due to show up now?'

"Eeep!" Anna let out a little squeak and leapt off of her desk.

"What?" Derek appeared overwhelmed with grief to his new epiphany and wasn't aware of what was going on.

"Ok I'll tell you as long as you promise not to whack me."

Derek's face took on the exact look of when Casey told him that she told Sheldon he failed grade one.

"I…accidentally sat on the intercom button." Anna watched as the color drained from Derek's face until he just turned into a vegetable staring at the wall.

After a good hour of therapy to get him out of his state of shocked reputation-shattering embarrassment, Anna was able to push him out the door so he could begin his walk-of-shame to class.

"Hey Cinderella man" and snickering was heard left and right as Derek shamefully held his binder over his face and slumped pass his once-worshipping peers.

Just as the last bell rang and people laughed hysterically as they emptied out into their classrooms, Derek felt a firm hand grab his wrist and yank him into a janitor's closet.

"Ow! Case, you made me hit my head on the mop bucket!"

"What the hell is going on? What is this stupid rumor going around school? Please tell me it's a joke." Something told Derek that Casey wasn't about to apologize.

As much as the cliché 'honesty is the best policy' made Derek want to ralph, he had no choice since he was clearer than glass in Casey's eyes. "I really wish it was at this point, but…you think I'm crazy don't you?"

"Of course not! I hear guys get to the mind reading phase eventually. It's kind of like a continuation of puberty!" Casey yelled in a whisper. They were skipping class and this is the last place she wanted to get caught. "If you're testing out some new popularity gimmick, you should really approach it from a different angle. But what the heck! I'll humor you, _Der._ What am I thinking right now?"

Derek wondered for a second if he should feign innocence and tell Casey it was this year's big prank, but before he could fully think it over he slipped out "Dad didn't hit the Davis' car the fourth time, that was actually an incident during your first driving lesson."

Casey's mouth fell open in shock. "Oh my gosh, Derek, please don't tell Mom or George! I swear, it was in my blind spot and-" realization suddenly dawned on her face and she looked severely hurt. Derek couldn't understand why. He thought she might feel anger for invasion of privacy, but he never expected her to think what she did next.

'Was this all some sick joke? Derek has probably been manipulating me this whole time! Oh God, you stupid, stupid girl…'

"Casey, what are you saying? …I mean, thinking. I mean-" Derek let out a sigh and tried to compose his thoughts. 'How could she seriously even think such a thing? I don't reenact love songs everyday on the street!'

"Ugh, stop it! You've heard enough from me I'm sure! Did you have a good laugh, huh? Well, I hope the test results of your little experiment worked out well."

"Casey, what the hell?! Why the hell would I "manipulate" you? I really care about you!" Derek's own eyes bugged out at this. Did he just say that out loud?

At first Casey looked hopeful at these words, when she remembered the situation. "Care? Derek, you would have to have a heart to care about anyone but yourself. Oh, and congratulations by the way. Not only did you succeed in the prank to end all pranks against Casey McDonald, but I'm sure you can use my pathetic little "crush on Derek" story to add another notch to your popularity belt. Don't forget to mention the ending where I _never_ want to see or talk to you again."

And with that kick in the face, she turned as harshly as she could in such a confined space and slammed the door in Derek's face as she had numerous times over the past year.

For once, Derek was speechless. Pulling up a bucket to sit on, he thought and thought hard. He had to get out of this mess. Even if a certain someone was jumping to conclusions and none of this was his fault. He had told her he cared about her. Did it really mean that little to her? He wanted her to jump at the words and tell him how much she cared back, even if he _had_ already heard it. Of course, that was just a fantasy now. Damn that guidance counselor.

Derek stayed in the closet mulling over his confusing thoughts and continued to stare off into space even as the final bell rang.

**Who's the jerk _now?_ Haha so typical of a girl (especially Casey) to jump to conclusions! And you guys thought the story was ending because Derek "lost his powers". Tsk tsk! You should know better! Haha…I have a pretty good idea for the next chapter, which I'll try and put up ASAP! Review my wonderful people! Review!  
xo, Christina**


	11. All These Thoughts Locked Inside

**What Casey Wants**

A/N: I just finished reading the latest chapter of "an acquired taste" and WOW, talk about perfect! So now I'm inspired and though I can only _hope_ to be ½ as good at writing as dwu, I'll just try and get this chapter out as best as I can. Let's see, what else… I put a request in for a Dasey video on youtube so hopefully that'll show up soon! And last but not least, thanks to my amazing, _fanascinating (™_ by Derek) readers! Just for fun, I want to ask you guys: What episode got you guys into Dasey? I was always into it I guess, but "The Party" was a big influence!

**Disclaimer: **Owning Life with Derek (which I don't): a LOT of money; keeping the show running: lots of money; Sighing at the joyful feeling you get when seeing Michael's beautiful face in all those Dasey moments? Priceless. 

**Chapter 11: All These Thoughts Locked Inside**

When he was finally able to pry himself off the bucket and out of the closet, Derek found that the school was completely deserted. 'Thank God.'  
Not that he wanted to go home right away, oh no. He didn't plan on crossing paths with Casey anytime soon.

Options limited, Derek left the school and just started walking. He headed in the opposite direction of his neighborhood, toward the mall. He kept his head down as he kicked at random pebbles lying on the sidewalk. If Derek had ever felt this empty, he didn't remember the occasion.

Just the thought of Casey accusing him of using her made him angry. Ok, so maybe those _were_ his initial purposes, but not now. This was something beyond pranks and insults. The fact that this insanity was actually happening made him send a particularly unlucky rock flying through the air. Derek watched dismissively as it landed on the porch of some little store. He glanced at it as he passed, but only to stop abruptly. He backed up and looked at the little shop again.

**Serena Santini: Psychic Advisor**

"Ha, I don't think I'm that desperate…" Derek muttered. He tried to continue his little hike, but his feet kept stalling. Collapsing his head into his hands with a dramatic sigh, he quickly looked around to make sure no one could see him before he slinked over to the door and walked inside.

Coughing loudly, Derek tried to wave the suffocating cloud of incense from the air. Peering around the dingy, dark waiting room, he felt a chill coming on. This looked all too reminiscent of those creepy places desperate people went to in the movies.'What am I _doing_?' Derek turned to leave, but stopped when he heard a loud clinking of beaded curtains and a woman emerged from the back room. Wild hair, tons of jewelry, overly ridiculous clothing…typical movie psychic freak.

"Can I help you young man?" This lady even had the 'mystic', creepy voice.

"Um, no I think I'm good." Derek forced a smile as he put his hand on the door.

"Ah, but you're not. I can sense the powerful emotions in your aura. You're running from something."

"I'm not running!" Derek cried out louder than necessary. Serena just stood there with a knowing look.

"Come on." Was all she said as she disappeared into the backroom. With nowhere else to go, no more options to help, and not wanting to be left alone in the dark waiting room, he figured it couldn't hurt to follow her.

"Uh…hello?" He called out tentatively as he edged his way around a cluster of bookshelves.

"Over here" she called. Derek looked to his left and followed Serena into a small clearing where there was a small table and two chairs set up along with a very cheesy looking crystal ball at the center of the table. He could practically see the cord and switch. "Take a seat, Derek."

"How did you know…never mind." He was pretty sure he didn't want to know how these phonies got their information these days. But all the same, he patted his pocket to make sure she hadn't nabbed the ID in his wallet.

"So." Derek looked at her expectantly to continue, but she just sat there gazing at him. Not knowing what to do, he simply waited for her to speak.  
The only thoughts coming from her were a few 'ohm's and some rambling which he figured was to conjure her powers or some crap like that.

"You have it!" She cried suddenly, causing Derek to jump slightly at the outburst.

"It?"

"The gift! Tell me, what am I thinking this very instant? Tell me!"

Afraid of what would happen if he remained silent, he quickly listened and then said, "Um, Mother Nature just blessed your cat Merlin with a litter of kittens?" 'Random much?'

"Marvelous! Oh, young man, you are truly blessed!"

"Ha! More like _cursed!"_

"Yes, I sense you are unhappy in your current state. Tell me, what answers do you seek?"

"I _seek_ to get rid of this thing! I don't want to read minds anymore! Not only is it destroying my poor social life, the only way I can get it to stop is if I decide to live my life after midnight!"

"Hmmm, a time limit. Interesting. I have heard of this case once before. The powers arise with the sun and are taken away at the stroke of midnight."

"Great. I'll just sleep during the day, wake up at 12 AM and go to sleep at 6 in the morning!"

'Today's youth is so hostile!' Derek rolled his eyes. All adults think the same.

"Just…tell me how to get rid of it!" Derek didn't want to be there any longer. He just wanted some help and as wacky as this lady was, she didn't seem to be a total crock. Not the most comfortable person to be around though.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

"What? Why?!"

She raised a hand to silence him. "You'll find the answer soon enough. But first you must accomplish the task at hand."

'Oh great, a walking fortune cookie' Derek thought bitterly as he let out an enormous sigh and stood up. "Yeah, thanks." He squeezed out of the room and fled out the door.

All that incense made him dizzy. He decided to just head home, Casey's wrath be damned. He needed some sleep.

Derek managed to dodge the family for the rest of the night, claiming an upset stomach, but Casey knew better. She didn't argue though and Derek couldn't be happier for the peace and quiet. Not resisting any longer, he drifted to sleep around nine, dreading the next day.

As sly as a fox, Derek managed to avoid human contact once again the next morning as he stealthily got ready, grabbed some food and headed out the door. Swinging open the school doors, he ignored the googily-eyed freshmen girls with their obsessive thoughts (just because people think he's insane, doesn't mean he's not hot.) and headed to his locker.

Distractedly gathering his books for that morning, he hastily closed his locker and began to head to his first class. Turning the corner, he saw Casey coming in his direction. Panicked, he ducked into the nearest classroom, leaning against the door as she passed.

'God, Derek is so pathetic. Hiding in classrooms? I'm not going to _attack_ him for pete's sake.'

Derek blushed realizing that she had noticed what he was doing, but regained his composure as he continued his journey to class. His pride was quickly deflated for the rest of the morning as the mockery from his peers was unending.

The lunch bell rang and Derek sprinted to the cafeteria. He hadn't seen Sam yet today and needed to see a friendly face. Walking through the entryway, he immediately regretted it. Above his usual lunch table was a cheap banner that read: **Derek – The Girl Whisperer.**

Taking a deep breath, he strode confidently to his table and took a seat. Sam must've still been in line to get lunch. Derek guessed right, but what he didn't know was that Casey was with him as well.

"So you think the whole thing is a joke?" Casey asked bewildered. Sam refused to believe Derek had any sort of powers. "How do you explain that he knew _exactly_ what I was thinking?"

"Come on, Casey. It was a lucky guess. I know this may seem unusual, but this isn't the first stunt Derek has pulled like this. Trust me, by tomorrow, everything will be back to…normal?"

Casey and Sam's eyes widened at the spectacle in the cafeteria. Derek was still sitting at the lunch table, but now he had a never-ending line of girls in front of him. They saw the banner above the table and heard the girl that was next in line say "Derek, I don't know if I like my boyfriend anymore! I won't let my mind tell me what's right. Do you think you could listen for me and tell me what to do?" Derek cast his smirk at her before winking and adding an "I think that can be arranged."

Casey was both shocked and revolted at the scene playing out before her. He really was pulling a stunt to further up his rep! He certainly seemed to be enjoying himself. Now she had it fixed firmly in her mind that he was lying to her all along. She wanted to slap herself for almost believing him when Derek mentioned that he actually cared about her. 'I knew this whole thing was a load of bull'.

Casey stormed off as Sam took a seat next to his best friend. "Dude…what are you-"

"Sam! Dude, isn't this great? Turns out these girls love the fact that I can get inside their heads. It took me a couple attempts to convince the crowd, but now they won't stop asking for advice! I should be charging for this much free 'Derek time', eh?"

"Sure, D. Sure." Sam decided to just eat his lunch and kept reminding himself that Derek _always_ snapped out of it eventually.

"Your thoughts definitely seem to be leaning towards Jack. Peter is a _loser._ And hey, if it doesn't work out, you got my number." Derek winked at her and watched her walk away as he called out "Next!"

"And what can I do for you…" Derek looked up at the girl who stood before him with her hands on her hips and a patronizing stare. "Ah, Casey. To what do I owe this _displeasure_?"

"So it's true? This whole thing _was_ a joke. I have to admit I'm impressed. Not only did you mess with _my_ emotions, but you're also going to screw around with every girl in this school's mind."

"Casey-"

She just let out a 'your pathetic' laugh and turned on her heel before stomping out of the cafeteria.

Derek groaned and leapt out of his seat to the dismay of the girls in line as he ran after Casey. He had finally found something to do that avoided confrontation and put him back in the spotlight, but she just couldn't let him enjoy it, could she? He caught a glimpse of Casey going outside and slammed the doors open in hot pursuit.

"_What_ is your damage?" Derek demanded in a harsh whisper as he managed to grab Casey by the arm and spun her around to face him. "I thought you never wanted to even speak to me again, and now it's suddenly OK for you to conduct my social affairs?"

'_MY_ DAMAGE?!' "I don't know what you're rambling about! All I know is that I'm just trying to point out the obvious. You, Derek Venturi, are a cruel, heartless, insensitive, jerk. I mean, manipulating girls through alleged "mind control"? Pathetic."

"Alleged?"

"Yes Derek, Alleged. It's an adjective, meaning something asserted without proof."

"Yeah, I have a dictionary, thanks."

"Could've fooled me."

Derek let the comment slide. "What I'm _trying_ to say is that, you really think I'm faking this?"

'Um, hello?!' Casey didn't even bother to answer out loud; she just looked at him as if he were a complete Neanderthal before turning to continue her journey home.

Derek was right on her heels. "Ok, how do you explain what I knew you were thinking? What I _always_ know that you're thinking?"

"You said it yourself, I'm just a predictable polly-preppy-pants." 'That comment really hurt by the way.'

Derek was so exasperated he couldn't even find words to express it. So instead he followed her all the way home, steaming. Casey turned up the walkway to their house and proceeded inside as she made a beeline for the kitchen. Derek slammed the front door closed and went to the kitchen to see Casey simply leaning on the other side of the island. 'Please just go away…'

But Derek wasn't about to give up, no matter what Casey wanted. "What on God's Green Earth is it going to take to convince you that I'm not insane and this is not some hoax to boost my status?!"

"Well gee, you're the one that's supposed to read minds, shouldn't you already have that answer?"

Derek came around the corner and got right in her face. "Maybe if you weren't bitching so much, I could possibly hear something."

She got even closer, daring him to back down. "Are you sure it's not midnight yet, Cinderella? You better go climb in your carriage before it turns into a pumpkin!"

"My jaw is on the floor due to your incredible wit, Casey." Derek was so close to her, that Casey was nearly bending backwards onto the counter. Somewhere in the fight, he had placed his hands on either side of her. She was cornered, but continued to stare him down. "Tell me that comeback about rubber and glue again…?"

"I thought you learned about that in the first grade. Oh, wait! You failed it, Einstein."

"This coming from a girl who can't even walk straight without falling down stairs or into cardboard boxes." The space between them was almost invisible at this point and both party's voices were wavering as they continued to lean closer, never losing eye contact.

"You are such an ass!"

"Takes one to know one, princess."

"You would know."

Centimeters of nothing but air were the only thing in their way right now. Derek was trying like hell not to attack her mouth with his. She was so close. 'And she smells _so_ good.'

Derek heard a whisper of a thought from Casey and almost passed off what he thought he heard as a trick of the ear. She wouldn't really think-

'Kiss Me.'

There was no denying that one. And of course, Derek didn't need to be told three times given the position he was in.

With incredible force, Derek closed what little gap was left between their lips. They both held back a moan at the contact, still too stubborn and angry to give the other one the satisfaction of the sound.

Casey kissed Derek back just as hard. They were taking all their frustrations out on each other and neither seemed to mind. Derek forced his way into Casey's mouth and she couldn't hold it in. She moaned into his mouth as soon as she felt his tongue touch hers. Derek smirked against her lips.

Angry that she was losing the battle, she began to tug at his hair, his shirt, _anything._ He didn't seem to mind and responded by slowly letting his hand creep up the back of her shirt as his other hand was tangled in her hair. Derek's fingers on her skin were almost burning her as she continued their passionate make-out session, barely coming up for air.

In the midst of all this, Derek heard a call from the back of her mind. At first it was faint and he was far too busy to pay it any attention, but the thought grew much louder.

'I want this so bad. But I can't. I can't do this. I still don't trust him.'

Derek helped Casey give in to her inner voice by pulling away when he heard it. He wanted this so bad, but he would never want Casey to feel like he was taking advantage of her. He looked down, not to a confused face, but an understanding one. She knew he could hear what she was thinking and was glad he had the will to pull away, because she certainly didn't.

"Derek…"

"I can't do this if you don't trust me, Casey…I'm going to prove to you this is real. I will." He lifted her chin to look in her eyes, because they seemed to be wandering to the door. "I promise."

She searched his eyes hard for a moment before slowly nodding. "You have one last chance", she whispered. Then she was up the stairs and out of sight.

**Whew! This chapter was long! I guess I was on a roll or something IDK lol… Anywayz, that was a pretty steamy kiss, eh? And what _will_ Derek do to prove his love? Guess you'll have to wait to find out cuz it is now 1:30 in the morning and I'm exhausted! Review lovelies! I don't know how many chapters I have left on this, but it's in its final stages so make these last few chapters count! Oh and the whole psychic advice thing will come in handy later!  
xo, Christina**


	12. The Clock's About to Strike

**What Casey Wants**

A/N: Holy monkey! I haven't updated in forever and I'm so so SO sorry! I've been so busy with school and online schooling and drama practice…and going to see a John Mayer concert (lol) that I haven't had time for ANYTHING. But I'm back and have a few chapters left in this story and hopefully I can write a new one soon! Oh and one of my requests for a Dasey video is finally up on youtube and it's kickin' rad…search for 'Dasey – Dance Inside'. Definitely check that out… Sorry again you guys, I hope you still love me as much as I love you! On with the show…

**Disclaimer:** Like we really need this…but damn what I wouldn't give for Michael's ownership papers…haha. Oh wait! I don't own "Dance Inside" by the All-American Rejects or their lyric in 11:11 PM for the chapter title!

**Chapter 12: The Clock's About to Strike**

A dark and tattered patch of carpet began to form in Derek's room where he had been pacing and pacing for hours to come up with a plan. 'Maybe I should…no, Casey would hate that. Or wait! No, no, no, STUPID!'

All of a sudden, that crazy psychic Serena's words popped into Derek's mind. _"The powers arise with the sun and are taken away at the stroke of midnight."_ He halted abruptly from where he was about to turn and begin his pace once more. "Helloooo brilliance!" he cried out to no one in particular as he walked purposefully out of his room and to the direction of Casey's.

Not even bothering with his always-polite manners to knock, he briskly entered her room where she was typing away on her keyboard for some assignment or another. She was in fact so preoccupied, she didn't even hear him come in. Maybe it was too much of a habit for him to constantly disrupt her that she finally tuned it out?

'I can't believe I've been skipping classes, no thanks to Derek! I would never do such a thing! And now I'm behind in the work with all these unexcused absences! And all so he can kiss me, confuse me, bullshit me, and all just to laugh in my face? You're a real genius for liking this one Casey…'

Derek just stood there for a moment, looking at her. He was hurt she still felt this way after everything that's happened. He was beginning to doubt if his newly forming plan would even work. About to turn around to make revisions on it, he wasn't too quick and was busted before he could step a foot out the door.

"Do you always lurk in my room eavesdropping on my thoughts or is this a new fun activity for you?"

Derek couldn't help but roll his eyes. She never gave him a chance to be a good guy even though she said he could be. "Paranoid much? Case, I've been standing here for like, ten seconds."

"Well, that's still ten seconds too long." They both just stared each other down till Casey finally broke the silence after determinedly blocking her thoughts from him. "Well?" she demanded.

"Well…" he was beginning to regret this whole thing. 'No. Derek, you care about this girl. Stop acting like a stupid little girl and follow through.'  
He cleared his throat and looked her directly in the eyes with a passion and confidence that took Casey aback. "I made a promise to you, Casey and I don't ever want you to think I can't keep them. You're always assuming the worst, but tonight? Babe, I'm gonna prove you wrong."

Derek let out an extra confident smirk before turning on his heel and heading downstairs. He knew the whole 'babe' comment would piss her off, but hey, he was Derek after all, what do you expect?

Nora and George arrived home at around the same time and both came in through the backdoor laughing about random jokes from work that day when they found Derek in the kitchen practically buried in a bottom cupboard with the immensely loud sound of banging pots and pans.

"Um, son, I thought we were past the experimental rocker phase?" George said hesitantly as he tried to peer into the cupboard and recover his son.

Derek dragged himself out of the mess and sat on the floor looking beat. "Is it safe to ask why all my good cookware is scattered on the floor?"

"No" was Derek's simple reply and taking that as a good answer, both adults left the kitchen to say hi to the kids who had come home on the bus a little earlier.

"Ah ha!" Derek moved a few more pans and trays to find an old cookbook stuffed way in the bottom of the mess. Now, Derek Venturi is capable of many talents: Hockey, getting girls, kissing, Babe Raider, getting girls, hockey, scamming people out of their money, Lord of the Lies, the ultimate prank master and an even more ultimate ladies man, but cooking? Duck and cover. This time he was really hoping it was the thought that counts.

Shortly afterward he did something out of the norm and cleaned up the mess, then stashed the recipe he found in his bedroom. He went down to watch a little hockey before everyone was called to dinner. Now was the time to set his plan in motion. He had to get Casey back to her normal perspective of looking at him if she was ever going to go along with his crazy shenanigans later.

"Hey Case, as long as you don't run the risk of breaking a nail, do you think you could maybe pass the bread before you hog it all up?"

Casey's mouth gaped. 'Wow. He's _really_ making a great impression on his second chance." She thought with disgust and sarcasm, but all the same couldn't help feeling thrilled that things almost seemed normal.

"Sure thing. Oh and speaking of hogs, all those carbs are doing _wonders_ to your figure."

The family tuned the usual bickering out as always as they discussed their days with each other. Noticing they weren't being paid much mind to, Derek leaned across the table as he whispered to Casey, "Like I didn't notice how your eyes have been keeping track of my…_figure._"

The table shifted as Casey sent a hard kick to Derek's shin. She looked down innocently as she finished her meal and left to do some homework. They had a long weekend coming up which meant no school tomorrow, but that never seemed to stop her.

The following hours ticked by torturously as Derek and Casey stayed in their respective rooms. After what seemed to be a million light-years, the clock struck 11PM. Derek knew everyone would be asleep by this time and he was sure glad they seemed to sleep like the dead. Still being careful all the same, he tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen with the recipe and got to work.

After an hour of pure sweat, he definitely appreciated Casey's effort towards her father during that one night at dinner. He hardly ever poured his own cereal, much less worked a stove. After everything was nearly set, he glanced up at the clock. 11:59. 'Showtime' he grinned.

Casey had never fallen asleep. That whole hour she lay awake wondering what in the world Derek could be doing in that kitchen. Her questions were soon answered when she heard a light knock on her door. At first she lay still till the knock came again, a little louder. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and flung open the door. "What?!" she yelled in a whisper.

Derek just smiled at her. She was so cute when she was half asleep and cranky. "This way madam." Derek bowed as he gave off his terrible French accent. Before she could give some snarky response, he took her by the arm like a gentleman and ushered her downstairs before placing her in her usual seat at the dining table. "Derek, why in the-?"

Before she could finish what would be the first full sentence she said to him since he dragged her out of bed, he disappeared into the kitchen. 'Great. He's probably going to emerge with a squirt gun, yell "Gotcha!" and soak me in my misery. Wow, he's right. I do always assume the worst. Well, it _is_ Derek. Hmm, something smells good…' Casey was brought out of her inner battle with a terribly familiar smell and then suddenly there was an all too familiar sound that broke out quietly into the silence.

Derek had rigged up some speakers in the dining room and had the stereo inside the kitchen. Right before he grabbed the food, he pressed play and let Casey's favorite song fill the air (without waking up the house).

**You don't have to move  
You don't have to speak  
Lips for biting.  
You're staring me down  
A glance makes me weak  
Eyes for striking.**

As smoothly as he could with a tray filling his arms, he slid into the dining room through the partially closed kitchen doors and sat a covered plate in front of Casey's confused expression. She looked up at him, asking in her mind what in the world was going on.

**Now I'm twisted up when I'm twisted with you  
Brush so lightly.**

Derek lightly grazed her arm as he went behind her and reached in front of her to uncover the plate.****

And time trickles down and I'm breathing for two  
Squeeze so tightly.

His breath hit her neck as he lightly held on to her shoulder and leaned into her ear "Bon appetit." Casey smiled as she looked at Derek's first attempted meal. Somewhere he had found her Mom's old recipe for homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese. Not exactly 5-star gourmet, but it was her all time favorite and she was seriously touched. Then she turned on him. "So you used your awful new power to compile my likes and dislikes so you can suck up to me?" Even Casey winced at how mean she was being. He was really trying to make an effort here! Maybe it was just because it was midnight and she was tired as all get out.

Derek didn't seem struck down by the comment though. As if expecting it, he reached over to a small clock sitting on the shelve behind him and handed it to Casey.

**I'll be fine; you'll be fine  
This moment seems so long.  
Don't waste new, precious time  
We'll dance inside the song.**

"Um, Christmas was in December."

"Casey. Look at the time."

"Why, did you fail the section in first grade where they teach you which one's the minute hand?"

Derek just gave her a smug stare. Casey sighed and tried again. "Look Derek, I'm sorry, but you trying to be nice to me is a little new. I need a second to adjust."

"Yeah, well, the important thing is that I'm trying. Anyway, what I'm _trying_ to tell you is that it's after midnight. Now if you'll recall correctly, my extremely embarrassing announcement over the intercom stated that I'm just a normal human being from the hours of 12 to 6."

"Okaaay…"

"You're gonna make me spell this out for you, aren't you?"

**What makes the one to shake you down  
Each touch belongs to each new sound  
Saying now you want to shake me too  
Move down to me slip into you.**

Aiming not to use words, Derek reached down for Casey's hand and pulled her up against him as he put her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, in some very foreign countries, I believe they call it dancing."

Casey blushed and looked down for a second before looking back into his eyes. "Okay so, I'm assuming you're trying to tell me that you care, because you knew all these things without reading my mind?"

"Well…you know what happens when you assume, Casey." Derek smirked at her and she smacked him on the back of the head.

**She sinks in my mind as she sheds through her skin  
Touch sight taste like fire  
Hands do now what eyes no longer defend  
Hands to fuel desire**

"As sweet as this is and everything," Casey let her arms fall away from Derek as she backed up to look at him. He wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "You're kind of creeping me out." Then it was Casey's turn to smirk.

"So, you'd rather I do this?" and with that, Derek grabbed the bowl of tomato soup and slowly poured it over her head, shaking the last bit out of the bowl and onto her shirt.

Casey was still in too much shock to move so Derek took her response as a golden opportunity and reached for the sandwich.

**I'll be fine; you'll be fine  
This moment seems so long  
Don't waste new, precious time  
We'll dance inside the song.**

He split in down the middle and stuck each cheesy side of the bread to the sides of her head. He was cracking up at this point, practically on the floor. It would take days to get that out of her hair!****

What makes the one to shake you down?  
Each touch belongs to each new sound  
Saying now you want to shake me too  
Move down to me slip into you.

While Derek was doubled over, Casey came out of her reverie and jumped on his back. "Whoa!" Derek didn't see it coming and they both fell to the ground. Casey pinned him before he could respond and she stared down at him.

"So I squirt you with some harmless ketchup and you pour hot soup all over me…and add cheese?!"

"Ok a) That harmless ketchup almost caused the death of me and 2) I recall your last weapon of choice being mashed potatoes."

"Hey, it was a vegetable, at least I can say I'm consistent. Oh and last time I checked, the letter 'b' still came after the letter 'a'."

"Hold the phone!" Derek yelled suddenly as he pulled Casey off of him to stand up. Casey pouted at the loss of contact, but Derek couldn't wait for the announcement. "I have waited a long time for this moment: Casey…a tomato is a fruit, _not _a vegetable."

Casey first looked at him as though he were insane when, suddenly, realization dawned. 'Whoa. He's right. Did Derek Venturi seriously just one-up me?'

"W-well…they're still debating about that!"

"Oh come on Casey, who? The National Fruit and Vegetable Board? Face it: you were wrong and I was right. Let's take in this lovely moment shall we?"

The music had ended and all they could hear was the sensational buzzing noise in their ear they always got in the heat of the battle. The sound that gave them a thrill when these moments came. Casey didn't mind Derek's nice little moments, but she never wanted to pass these up.

Casey stood from her position on the ground and looked Derek defiantly in the eye. He returned the glare with the ever-present smirk and she suddenly got noticeable chills, which caused the smirk to grow wider.

"Don't tell me I'm making you nervous, Case?" He began to circle her but she followed his gaze.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I will by 6 o' clock." He winked at her.

One part of her (a really big part) wanted to slap him right then and there. How dare he purposefully bring up the topic of manipulating her thoughts? But she wouldn't back down now. It was 1 AM and he was powerless at this time, so she could fight back on a level playing field. What she couldn't understand is why she was still losing.

"Why did you call my Dad to come back that one day?"

"What?" He definitely wasn't expecting that one.

"Oh, so you can ask your questions but I can't ask mine?"

"I…"

Casey sighed and took a step towards Derek, though their circling show- down had already inched them pretty close together.

"I don't know why you even needed to read my thoughts. No matter how much of an ass you were, you always seemed to know how I was feeling and how to fix it. But now you can really hear the specifics and it scares me, because there are some things I really don't want you to hear. But this? I like where we are right now."

"I can't say I mind" Derek agreed as he began to run his hands up and down her arms as he leaned closer.

"Not like _that,_ idiot. I mean, I like when we're fighting and things aren't so…ugh. That sounds really weird, but nice doesn't suit us I guess. You know?"

"Yeah. But you got to admit, this is good too." He smirked at her and continued before she could give another disapproving look. "How about a compromise? I know I said I don't do compromises, but we can make an exception. You miss the arguing, right? Well I'm thinking that little make out session was a pretty good battle for the both of us. So…how about round two?"

Casey looked at him in almost fake disgust as if to say 'Is that all you ever think about?'

He just laughed and pushed her hands away that were trying to pry herself out of his grip. They weren't putting up too much of a battle anyway. He rested a hand on her lower back and the other on her cheek.

Casey pouted and pretended to hate him even though her arms were definitely snaking around his waist. Suddenly, Derek turned serious as he still saw the uncertainty in her eyes, but held his position as he spoke. "I wanted to set this whole thing up to tell you that I don't give a damn about this whole mind reading thing. Why do you think I _electrocuted _myself in the bathroom? I don't want this anymore; I'll do whatever the hell I can to get rid of it. I just want…" Derek looked up at the ceiling as though to gain courage and dignity for the incredibly cheesy thing he was about to say.

"Derek." Casey interrupted. "If you say 'I just want you' I might lose what's left of my dinner on your shirt. Don't get me wrong, I'm a totally lovey-dovey, sappy person, but from you? Stick with the insults."

Derek looked at her as though she were his saving grace. He thought _he_ would puke at the corniness of the situation. He loved Casey and all, but we're talking about the couple that got into physical fights with shampoo over a _doorknob_.

"Whew" Derek sighed out in fake relief "I was really straining myself there. Well it may be too early, but…did my semi-jerk, semi-sap plan possibly change your mind about me? Please say yes, I practically burned all my fingers off cooking what's left on your shirt."

Casey laughed at him and bit her lip in thought. She leaned in closer and touched the side of his face. He closed his eyes as she leaned her forehead against his and her voice hesitantly came out. "I…"

"Ow, George where's the light?"

The teens snapped apart as the light flickered on overhead to reveal a very messy situation. Derek and Casey's expressions immediately jumped back to the time when they were caught in the bathroom during the party. 'Oh, No.'

Nora and George just stood there, angry but not the least bit surprised. Casey looked at Derek and he looked back at her. They both turned to their flustered parents.

""Grounded?""

""Mmhmm.""

The parents shuffled sleepily back downstairs as Derek playfully bumped Casey's shoulder and went to get some cleaning supplies. He looked back at Casey and they smiled briefly before Derek realized he had walked straight into the kitchen door and once again became familiar with the ground.

**Haha I forgot how fun it was to right this. So what did you think? Do I still have "it" after that brief slump? I hope so. I thought it was pretty cute and I'm even a little worried about poor Derek. That boy has suffered a lot of injuries…Anywayz, I probably have one more chapter left after this and then soon I'll move onto the next story. Anyone have any requests for a story line? I'll gladly try and work them into the next one :) Love you guys of course, your reviews make me happy so LEAVE SOME!  
xo, Christina**

****


	13. Wake Up Gilligan

**What Casey Wants**

A/N: So I should definitely be studying for an Economics test right now, but am I? Um, No. There are things to do, Daseys to write! All right, first point of business. I can't put the web address for that Dasey video I was talking about last chapter, so skip back to chap 12 and just search for what it tells you! Oh and I have another one for you! This is the latest video I requested and you must see it: Go to youtube and search for 'Dasey: Sometimes'. It'll say in the description that I requested it!  
Anywayz…I think I have one chapter left after this one :(  
So I gotta make this one count! And I LOVE YOU GUYS! Your reviews are so sweet…toothache central haha

**Disclaimer:** screw it.

**Chapter 13: Wake Up Gilligan**

"Ugh, God, how much do you _weigh_?" Casey grunted under the strain as she tried to support Derek's weight.

When Derek had crashed into the kitchen doors and after Casey had stopped laughing, she realized he was hurt and managed somehow to bring him to his feet with his arm around her shoulders for support. They were now tackling the very difficult task of going up the stairs.

Casey accidentally rammed his shoulder into the wall. "Ow! Watch it…"  
Derek mumbled, half consciously through his double vision.

Casey scowled and "accidentally" pushed him into the wall again. "My bad, Klutzilla."

Instead of attacking Casey for stealing his quality insult, he did the least likely thing for Derek in that second. He laughed.

Casey just rolled her eyes as she managed to reach the landing and drag him into his room. They stumbled clumsily over to the bed and when she tried to lay him down, he took her with him.

They landed with an "umph" and of course in a purely coincidental position. Derek landed on top of Casey, pinning her underneath him. She struggled to push him off, but he wasn't even making a half conscious effort. 'Is it wrong to enjoy this? Oh, shut up Casey! He can hear you!'

To her surprise and relief, he didn't seem to be responding to any of the comments she was making in her head. Suddenly she realized she had given up the battle and was actually letting Derek lounge across her like a beanbag chair. With an enormous sigh and even greater amount of force, she rolled Derek off of her and sprang up to standing position.

"I'm impressed. I didn't know you could make an effort to the point where you kept your stupid, cocky comments to yourself. You must've banged your head pretty bad."

"Wmmfhat amfmmfre ooo mmtalmmffmking fmaboumft?"

"Remove head from pillow, _then_ speak." Casey didn't catch a word of that.

Clearly Derek was making his injury appear worse than what it was, just for attention sake, but managed to roll his head to the side from the sloppy position Casey had tossed him into. "What are you talking about?" He asked groggily, eyes half closed. "You haven't even said anything remotely worth insulting. My damaged brain doesn't work for free ya know."

"Well mine does. I mean, just because I don't say something stupid, doesn't mean you don't hear it…"Casey was now looking down, ashamed that she was practically raising embarrassment for herself.

Derek quirked an eyebrow at this. He realized he hadn't heard anything coming from her since his painful head excursion. Anything thought-wise at least. "It isn't six already is it?" he remembered the time frame.

"Actually it's 6:30. Wow, I haven't laughed that long in a really long time. Plus it took about 30 attempts to even lift you to your feet last night."

Casey looked at him blankly. 'Maybe he isn't faking. The whole mind reading thing I mean. But that's ridiculous, concussions don't cause you to lose…whatever it is he has.' "I. Am in. The Twilight Zone." Casey sighed.

"Or on Gilligan's Island." Derek mumbled as he tried to shift into a more comfortable location on his bed.

"What?" Casey asked disinterestedly. She doubted a man with multiple injuries to the head could form relevant sentences at this point.

"No, seriously! Didn't you watch that episode? Gilligan gets hit in the head with a coconut and then he gets on this raft and-"

"The island natives worship him till he gets hit with another coconut and is back to plain old Gilligan. Your point?"

Derek smiled appreciatively up at her. Her taste in entertainment wasn't _completely_ awful. "Well, hello! Maybe that's what's going on here!"

Now it was Casey's turn to laugh. "Wow Derek. How fast were you walking when you hit that door?" Seeing his stone expression she sighed and added, "Look, it doesn't work like that in real life. Plus, you didn't even lose your memory. Though you are delusional, but I don't think there will ever be a cure for that."

He just scowled up at her. "Ok Derek, I got you into bed…get your mind out of the gutter!" she added the last part in addition to the look on his face. "I meant that I helped you out so we're done here. I'll talk to you when you're more…fully conscious."

"Aww, but Casey I'm a sick man in need. How can you turn your back on a sick man in need?" Derek even threw in the puppy dog eyes.

"Didn't you watch the previous demonstration? Like this." And Casey smiled playfully as she exited Derek's room to turn in for the night (again).

Derek knew exactly how vampires felt the next morning. The sun was so bright it was hurting him. He grumbled before throwing the blanket over his head and ducking under his pillow.

"Hey, wake up Gilligan. It's almost 2 o' clock."

Derek sprang up at the sound of her voice. The sudden dizziness he felt made him lie back down. "May I remind you I didn't go to bed till this morning?" he said, but she already went downstairs.

Quickly dressing himself, he took the steps two at a time before regaining his composure and trying to seem casual as he entered the kitchen. "Why is it so quiet around here. I mean, you know, when your mouth _isn't_ moving?" Derek asked peering into the fridge as Casey ate an apple at the counter.

"Ha ha. Everyone went out for lunch and I had the sad obligation of staying home to look after an "injured man"."

"Hey! What's with the air quotes? I ate wood pretty hard…"

Casey just remained silent and took another bite. After a long pause, she brought up the current topic on her mind. "So, you really can't hear what I'm thinking right now?"

He stopped pouring his cereal and Casey watched his back stiffen as he was faced toward the window. He hadn't even though about it, but now he realized he couldn't hear a thing. "I guess not. I'm telling you, this world revolves around the incidents of Gilligan's Island." He wheeled around to face her as he ate.

"Pfft, like _you_ would remember anything from last night. You banged your head so hard, you passed out like my drunken Uncle Gary at Mom and George's wedding."

"Men do _not_ pass out. Besides, a lot of stuff happened before my accident. As I recall, you were about to tell me something last night…before we were interrupted…" Casey blushed at the thought of the position they had been in before George and Nora came upstairs. "Yeah, um…I forgot." Casey admitted sheepishly, suddenly becoming extremely interested in the stem of her apple.

Derek looked amused at her discomfort and decided to push his luck. "Oh, come on Case, I thought elephants never forget." He laughed outwardly at this, but Casey seemed less than amused.

The truth was, she had gone over the different scenarios countless times in her mind to the point where she had never went to sleep. She thought of how sweet and charming Derek could be, but the also obvious fact that he was the most immature jerk she'd ever met. And right now, her decision process was definitely paying attention to the latter.

Casey was still sitting there deep in thought, but also had a hurt expression on her face. Not that Derek's remark was the wittiest, but it was unnecessary and just incredibly immature. How could she make this work if he wasn't even going to put any effort in? Was this even the same Derek from last night?

He noticed the look on Casey's face and tried to pretend what just happened, didn't. "So, um, now that I can't hear your thoughts and we don't have to sneak around at midnight…you wanna watch a movie or something?"

She looked up at him incredulously. Then a smug look overtook her face as she simply said, "Actually, I can't. I have plans today." And she got up to throw her apple away. Derek put down his cereal and caught her by the wrist before she could head upstairs.

"What "plans"? Color-coding your hair scrunchies doesn't count."

She smiled nastily at him before snatching her wrist out of his grasp. He looked dumbly down at his empty hand before turning back to the conversation. "Remember Trevor? Well, he wants me to go with him to one of those local shows and I said yes."

"Trevor?" she nodded at him. "As in, Trevor?"

"YES, Derek, Tre-vor. Now that we know the subject of this conversation, can I go? I promised I'd be there soon."

He followed her to the door as she was grabbing her jacket. "Does what I did last night mean that little to you?"

She turned towards him and took his hand in hers. Derek looked away, preventing himself from rolling his eyes. 'Why do I feel like I'm in one of those cheesy teen movie break-up scenes?'

Casey dropped his hand when she saw his discomfort and took a step back. "This is exactly the problem."

"What problem?!"

"Derek, I appreciate everything you did last night. Though I could've done without the tomato shower. But anyway, I need time to think things over right now. I mean, it's too weird! Do you not sense that! We don't even have decent arguments anymore; it's all just a bunch of awkward events after another! Then to top it all off, it's like some big joke to you and you have to insult a moment where there needn't be one."

"So what the hell are you trying to tell me? Do you expect me to just stop being me?"

"I don't really expect anything of you anymore."

She left, forcing herself to stay strong. The truth was, she hadn't talked to Trevor since he told her he liked Emily. She just wanted to get under Derek's skin. Not that she was being anymore mature than him at this point, but she was just sick of all of this, it felt like some twisted joke.

This whole thing only started because Derek had invaded the personal corners of her mind and he was too obnoxious to back down. She couldn't continue forgiving him time after time for his pathetic attitude in exchange for an hour of sweetness a week.

Ok, so she hadn't completely lied. She was headed for a show Trevor told her about once and she knew some people that would be there. She pulled her jacket tighter as she crossed the street.

Derek was hot on her trail, steaming at the thought that Casey could possibly want to spend time with someone else right now. 'I could freaking throw a lasso around the moon and pull it down for her and she would complain about my harm to the universe. Nothing is ever good enough.' He paused on the sidewalk for a minute. 'So why am I still chasing after her?'

He ignored the question and continued the pursuit till he saw her duck into a small building and waited before doing the same. He looked around the dingy and incredibly noisy room, trying to spot his target. There were a _lot_ of people in there.

"What did I tell you about stalking?!" Casey caught Derek off guard and he spun around clutching at his chest.

"Jesus…"

"I'm sorry, that excuse doesn't really cut it for me."

Derek lost it. "Nothing ever "cuts it" for you! Casey, I've been jumping hoops the last couple days for you, I'm not sure what other circus stunt I could perform to amuse you for the tiniest second! Why can't I just say, "Hey, I like you. A LOT." And then your response would be, "I like you too Derek. And don't worry, I'm not going to overanalyze everything as usual!" Then we skip off merrily into the fucking sunset!"

Casey's eyes widened a bit at this. She opened her mouth and closed it once, then twice as if a stunned fish before she closed her mouth, turned on her heel, and disappeared into the crowd.

Derek screamed out a groan of frustration he had been forcing himself to hold in. Thankfully the song that was starting up drowned it out. The whole crowd started jumping around to the beat and, not wanting to be knocked around like a piñata, Derek found a small table to sit at.

From his current perspective, he caught sight of Casey's figure, which appeared to be laughing rather overly enthusiastic as she chatted with some random guy. When she playfully touched his arm, Derek thought he was going to rip the table in half. She was clearly aware of his watching eyes and only wanting to piss him off. It was a dare. She wanted, no, needed him to go over there.

Derek kicked over his chair and walked towards Casey's location. She looked up and couldn't see him anywhere. Worried that she actually might have caused him to leave, she started to ignore Todd, or whomever it was she was talking to as she scanned the room. 'Where in the-?'

"Hey Todd! What's up dude?" Derek and Todd exchanged a stupid handshake and Casey groaned before turning to the two guys now standing next to her. "So I see your chattin' it up with Casey. Thought I'd come over and congratulate you, no one's lived to tell the tale yet!"

"How I wish that were true", Casey snarled at Derek as she stood on the sidelines. If he was trying to get to her, and he was, he was doing a good job. However, she didn't know Derek to be the jealous type.

"Well, I gotta go! Hockey to train for, ya know?" Derek gave another lame handshake before turning to leave. He stopped right at Casey's side and placed his hand on the small of her back as he leaned into her ear. Casey held her breath as well as a smile, but her spark faded as he whispered "Good luck trying to snag this one. My word is law and well, what I've told this guy about you will send him running in no time. Have a nice day, Case." He smiled smugly and pushed his way out the door.

"Ugh!" Now it was Casey's turn to scream in frustration. Without a word to the poor and confused Todd, she stalked out the door and started to march home in a shortcut behind all the buildings.

Casey was so blinded by anger, she didn't notice anything as she continued to walk. It was practically like a desert wasteland on the back roads and she didn't mind, because she was fully ready to punch out the next person that came too close to her.

"Derek Venturi, you are going to get an ear full!" she yelled at the trees.

She gasped in fear as an arm reached out from the alley she was passing and slammed her against a wall. "How about a mouth full?"

Casey didn't need eyes to see that Derek was smirking at her as he had her pinned up against the wall. Apparently, she didn't need a brain either, because everything seemed to melt away the second Derek met his lips with hers.

Come on. Who can blame the girl?

**PLEASE review for this chapter; I'm really 'iffy' on it! I kinda had no real direction and just let my fingers go crazy. It wasn't my best, but hopefully it was ok! The last chapter is next and it won't be up till I know it's perfect! Oh, thanks to** **Chica De Los Ojos Café for giving me the idea of jealous Derek haha I hoped that worked out at least semi-alright! Check out those videos I've been talking about too! All right, I'm off to study so PEACE.  
P.S. Did you catch the "Strange Days at Blake Holsey High" reference? Lol…  
xo, Christina**


	14. Thank You, Captain Obvious

**What Casey Wants**

A/N: Is this really the last chapter? Awww, this is so emotional! Haha…I'm seriously sad to end this, but I want to say thank you to every reviewer out there!! You guys have given me over 200 beautiful reviews and I'm completely overwhelmed! It's good to know I'm not the only person that's completely _obsessed _with Dasey (and Mike Seater ;-)) and hopefully I'll be writing another story soon. That's actually something you could help me with! Give me all your ideas for a Dasey and I'll try to work them into the next one! Well, here it is. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Aw, what the heck. For old time's sake. I don't own Life with Derek, Liar Liar by Alexz Johnson, You're so Vain by Carly Simon or any other show/movie/song you might read. Only in my mind:)

**Chapter 14: Thank You, Captain Obvious**

_Bang. Crash. _"Mmph."

Casey was now sandwiched in a completely opposite corner of the alley with Derek pressing her back into the wall and two knocked over garbage cans at their feet. Neither person gave a damn.

One of Derek's arms was circled around her waist while the other one leaned up against the wall, preventing any sort of exit. Not that Casey cared about that either. Her own hand was desperately latched onto Derek's collar as the other one kept a firm hold on the back of his neck.

The kiss was fierce. They were desperately pulling at each other, trying to get closer when it was completely impossible. The intense warmth of Derek's lips and the heart-pounding sensation that came when his tongue grazed hers was more than enough to distract her from the fact that it was beginning to rain.

Only when the thunder sounded did Casey's eyes snap open. She turned her head away, but Derek only took this opportunity as an invitation to explore her neck. Casey's eyes rolled back and she closed her eyes once again, completely lost in the feeling. Then the lightening came.

One brilliant flash before her eyes was all it took for the images to come flooding back. Derek's accident, all the lies, the slamming doors, heated kisses, the anger, the stress, the manipulation.

Casey unraveled her hands from their current position and placed them firmly on his chest before giving him a hard shove. Not exactly bracing himself for such a violent act, Derek stumbled backward and hit the opposite wall. He looked up at her, confused as hell. He started to take a tentative step closer, but the look in Casey's eyes made him think twice.  
He was no stranger to that expression. The whole "After analyzing all the graphs and charts in my head, I can't kiss you anymore and can't believe you even attempted it" look was written clearly in Times New Roman, 12 point font, all across her face.

"Fine." Derek threw up his hands in defeat. He was sick of this. It almost didn't seem worth it anymore. "If you want to continue to live in denial about how I _know_ you really feel about me, whatever. But just so you know, this is completely pathetic bullshit. Go ahead. Keep running away. But when you eventually end up running right back into yourself, don't come to me to say I told you so."

He shoved his hands into his soaking wet pockets and sent her one last heartbreaking look before turning on his heel and leaving Casey in her little corner. She sank down to the ground where a puddle was starting to form, but at this point she could care less if she caught pneumonia. She was pretty sure Derek wouldn't care either and it was this thought that caused all her silent tears to melt with the raindrops that continued to fall down her face.

After an hour of sulking, Casey was really starting to shiver. She felt that her teeth would chatter right out of her head if she didn't seek shelter. Even though the consequences of seeing Derek again felt like too much to bare, Casey dragged herself up off the ground and scuffed along home.

Derek stood in the living room, forehead pressed anxiously up against the window with a cell phone in his hands. He kept flipping it open and closed like a nervous habit, hoping he would see some form of movement outside. Casey had been gone for over an hour and he desperately wanted to call her, but he knew she probably wouldn't even answer. Truth be told, he was a little scared of what she would say if she did answer. He wasn't really her favorite person right now.

Derek felt the weight of the world lift from his shoulders as a very wet and very cold Casey emerged through the front door. Their eyes locked for a brief second before Casey passed him off as a piece of furniture and went upstairs to change.

Casey heard the family come home as soon as she closed her door. "Dude, why are you all wet?" Edwin asked and Casey just rolled her eyes and cranked her stereo up.

At close to seven o' clock, Casey was warm and dry and snuggled under her covers as she read "Pride and Prejudice", trying to lose herself in an alternate reality. One that didn't involve Derek.

A knock sounded at the door. "Who is it?" Casey nearly demanded as her door opened and Emily's head peered around the corner. "Don't shoot, I'm a hostage." She joked with a nervous laugh.

"Sorry, Em. I thought you were…"

"Derek?"

"No!" Emily stared at Casey at this unnecessary outburst. "I mean, no, what would he be doing in my room? I'm happy to see you Emily." Casey quickly changed subjects and Emily just gave one more look before shrugging it off.

"Ok, so the reason I came over is because," Emily dug into her pocket and after a second managed to extract a flyer. "Tah-dah!" Casey grabbed the flyer and looked it over. "Emily, you know I'm not into the whole party scene. Exhibit A, Derek's crazy shenanigans that he's thrown in our living room."

"Casey this isn't just some random party! This is THE party!" Casey just shot Emily a look. "I'm serious! It's at Sam's house and everyone is going to be there so could you pleeeease at least make an appearance with me for a little while?" Emily exaggerated a pout and Casey couldn't help but laugh.

"Ok, Ok. I'll go. I need to get out of the house anyway. But if you ditch me for some boy, I swear…"

"Eeek! Don't worry Case, I won't leave your side! Ah, you're awesome! Now come on, get dressed! We gotta work it for those boys!"

Casey rolled her eyes as her best friend yanked her off the bed and towards the closet. Just as Emily started pulling out random things for her to try on, Casey heard the doorbell. Shortly afterward there was an "I'll get it!" and a fumbling with the locks on the front door. She heard Derek's voice immediately switch into charm-mode and whatever his flavor of the night was giggled stupidly in response. Then, the door closed and Casey looked to Emily.

"Em, please tell me Derek is not going to this party."

Emily looked at Casey as if she were crazy. "Casey, _everyone_ is going to be there. And I mean, he's Derek Venturi. Of course he's going. But just ignore him if he's bugging you. Now go try this on!" Emily threw a bunch of clothes into Casey's arms, forced her towards the bathroom, and shut the door behind her. Casey just sighed as she put her new outfit on. 'This night should be special.' She thought bitterly.

After curling her hair and doing her make up, Casey emerged from the bathroom looking somewhat like a supermodel. "Am I a genius or am I a genius?" Emily grinned at her wardrobe accomplishment. "Um, the first one?" Casey answered jokingly. She was starting to feel better. 'Who cares if Derek's going to be there? I look hot and I'm going to have fun.'

After a million "be safe" rules from the parents, Emily and Casey headed over to Sam's house. Casey paused at the front door and sent Emily an unsure look, which Emily returned by pushing Casey into the house. Stumbling a little before coolly composing herself, Casey scanned the room as she let Emily take her coat.

The room was blocked from view however when a familiar form walked into Casey's path. She looked up to friendly eyes. "Hey Case, I'm glad you could make it! And might I add, you look really…_really_ good." Sam smiled down at her and she smiled herself. Sam had become a good friend to her and she was glad that at least one guy would appreciate her tonight. "Thank you! You look good too." They smiled wider as Sam brought her into a quick and friendly hug. The hug was especially quick as Sam suddenly pulled away from her, rubbing his head.

"Ok, who threw that?" Sam asked irritably as he pointed to an empty soda can on the ground. "My bad, dude!" Derek yelled from across the room. He smirked at Casey before turning back to his date that Casey guessed had an IQ of a hamster.

'Jealous much, Venturi?' Casey thought with a smirk of her own before turning back to her two friends. "Well this is a party isn't it? Let's dance!" Casey cried out and led the way to the middle of the room. Sam and Emily exchanged looks before following. Some girl was doing lame karaoke to the latest song, but the beat was good so Casey just started to dance and Derek definitely took notice.

Pretending that Casey was not directly across from him, dancing with his best friend and wearing the hottest outfit he'd ever seen, he turned all his attention towards Kyla or whatever his date's name was.

He tried to hold up his end of the conversation while shooting glances over at the dance floor, which wasn't too hard since his date had the IQ of a hamster. He saw Emily wander off to grab some drinks as Casey and Sam kept dancing. When he saw her arm go around his neck and his hand settle on her back, the can he was holding was condensed into scrap metal. 'So this is how you wanna play it, eh?' Derek made sure Casey was looking before he took Kyla by the waist and captured her in a kiss. He instantly wanted to kick himself for being such an idiot, but he had to fight fire with fire. Casey wasn't about to grind against his best friend like it didn't mean anything and just expect him to stand by sulking.

Casey stopped dancing immediately and just gaped at Derek. Her mind felt completely numb and the room was spinning. 'Why?' was the only word echoing in her head. She bit back tears and turned back towards Sam and Emily who had just reappeared. Both of them tried to ask what was wrong, but Casey was focused on revenge.

Just then, she heard the song end and the girl on the microphone called for any karaoke singers. Before her brain could register her actions, she pushed pass all the people and marched onto the stage. "Hi." Casey said briefly to the girl as she kept her eyes on Derek, who was now sickeningly whispering into Kyla's ear. Casey made her request for a song and picked up the mic.

Derek looked up briefly and found Casey on stage, mic in hand. He just stared at her as the song started up and Kyla's complaints faded into the background. He still had his arm around her waist though, just to keep his foot in the battle.

Casey stared darkly at Derek and brought the mic to her lips. She sighed and never let her eyes leave the target as the song kicked in.

**You said I was your everything.  
You said I was the one.  
You played me like a radio.  
You used to love that I had no shame.**

Put my pain into words.  
Hold my hand to the flame.

Tell me you love me like a star.  
Tell me you want me wherever you are.  
Tell me you'll breathe me till your last breath.  
Liar, Liar.  
Oh, Liar, LIAR.

Casey forced emphasis into those last words and Derek felt it sting. 'Wait a second. Why the hell do I feel bad? She's playing some pathetic "pity me" act after I'm the one that broke my back trying to impress her! I don't think so.' Derek stalked right over to the stage and up the steps. Casey didn't continue on to the next verse and instead just glared at Derek. "I'm trying to do a song here you know."

"Oh, I know what you were trying to do, Princess. Let me help you out there." Derek grabbed the microphone out of Casey's hands and cleared his throat. "Excuse me! Hey everybody, how are we feeling?!" The crowd cheered loudly for their "master" and Derek just smiled. "Ok, so here's the thing. Casey here decided to sabotage our little plan and come up here to sing a solo number when in fact; we have a little surprise for you. Her and I will be singing a duet!" Casey began to walk off stage in disbelief, but Derek grabbed her arm roughly.

"Oh, come on now! Let's give this young lady a hand, she seems to be a little nervous!" Applause and cheers rang out through the room and Derek smirked at Casey waiting to see her next move.

Casey grabbed the second mic and got up in Derek's face. "Whatever it is that you're planning to do, it's not going to work. So go ahead. Bring it."  
Derek smirked wider and replied, "Excellent."

He walked over to the girl manning the karaoke system and asked loud enough for Casey to hear, "Hey, do you have the song "You're so Vain"?"  
Casey just gave a look to say 'you've got to be kidding me.'

After a couple seconds, the song began to play and Derek turned towards Casey with a big, arrogant smile on his face. Ok, so reputation and sense of pride be damned. He belted the lyrics out in a completely cheesy way that he was sure Casey would hate.

**You walked into the party  
Like you were walking onto a _yacht._  
You had your, um, your hat pulled real strategically  
over your eye and-**

"It's 'strategically dipped below one eye'" Casey interrupted into her microphone in an 'uh, duh' tone. Derek rolled his eyes and Casey decided to fight back so she sang next in a tone that made Derek almost want to slap her.

**You had one eye in the mirror  
As you watched yourself gavotte  
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner  
They'd be your partner, and**

You're so vain.  
You probably think this song is about you.  
Derek Venturi, you're so vaaaain.

"Oh, that's a laugh. Really Casey." Derek spat back at her.

**You probably think this song is about you.  
Don't you? DON'T YOU?**

"Ok, you know what? I'm not the one that's trying to make myself look like some cheap whore so I can come to a party and try to get back with my ex-boyfriend." Derek yelled into the microphone.

"At least I don't rebound with some chick that's carrying a multitude of STDs every night!" She screamed right back. "And you know why, Derek? Because,"

**Yoooooou're sooooooo vaaaaaaaaaaain!**

"Oh, you do know the words so well, don't you? Casey McDonald ladies and gentlemen!" Derek applauded sarcastically as Casey ran out the door. The music continued to play awkwardly in the background as Derek threw his mic down. He wasn't finished with her. He wanted her to know what it really felt like to be told one thing and have it denied to his face like a punch to the gut a minute later.

As the door slammed behind him, the whole crowd just stood there with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Wait up, Case! You forgot your loot bag!" Derek yelled at her retreating form. She stopped and spun back around, charging at Derek. He almost took a step back in fear, but stood his ground. They came face to face as if in some Western showdown in the middle of the street. Where's a good tumbleweed when you need one?

Nothing could be heard except the breath from their lungs, which was coming out in angry spats. The only reason they couldn't hear the party was because everyone was pressed quietly up against the window, waiting for the showdown to take place.

Then, out of the silence, the sound of Casey's hand meeting the side of Derek's face echoed through the street. Derek rubbed at the side of his face and turned back to Casey, waiting for an explanation. 'What I wouldn't give to be able to read her thoughts again. I mean, why the hell did she feel that was necessary?'

Casey spoke up on cue. "Why, Derek? I mean, how _could_ you?" She looked away and up at the sky, trying to gain enough self-control so she wouldn't cry or hit him again. "I was just _dancing_ for God's sake! But what you did? That's lower than I ever thought you would go."

Derek wanted to apologize, but the Venturi genes in him only made him put a guard up and continue the fight. "Well, I'm not the only one who can give away kisses like they're going out of style and have them mean absolutely nothing."

"No, but you sure have a good lock on that one. And when did I ever say they didn't mean anything to me? I'm not completely devoid of emotions you know."

"Is this the part where I'm supposed to admit that I'm some kind of robot with no feelings and fall to my knees asking for your forgiveness? That is, only to be kicked in the face and left for dead?"

"Oh, please. You are _such_ a drama queen! Let's face facts here, Derek. One: Since the second I moved into your house, you've _hated_ me. Two: The only reason your feelings shifted slightly more towards 'tolerating me' was because you invaded my thoughts and got a laugh out of the fact that I actually like something as disgusting as you! THREE: YOU THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE YOU, YOU CAN CLAIM TO CARE ABOUT ME ALL YOU WANT AND I'LL BELIEVE YOU! YOU KNOW WHAT I BELIEVE?!"

Derek just stood there, expressionless, waiting for a response. All this screaming had to go somewhere. But Casey just stood there for a minute, trying to settle herself so she wouldn't lunge at him like a crazed cavewoman.

"Better yet, I'll tell you what I don't believe… and that's every single word out of your mouth."

Even a "robot" like Derek couldn't hide how hurt he was. He looked away and down at the ground then off to the side before he turned his back to her. She kept her eyes on the back of his head, willing him to say something. 'Please prove me wrong. Please.' But he was still as a statue. That was her cue to walk away, so she slowly turned around and began to walk slowly down the street.

Still facing the other way, Derek spoke quietly, but Casey heard him and it was enough to make her stop in her place.

"You know, for someone so smart, you're really stupid. One: I never hated you Casey. NEVER. Two: I didn't start liking you just because you liked me. I thought so, but I didn't. I just like you. Plain and simple. Three: …"

They stood a couple feet apart, backs still turned to each other until Derek willed himself to turn around. Now he was looking at the back of her head. 'Do something. Do _something_!' Derek sighed and decided to do the first thing that came to mind. He cleared his throat nervously.

**I guess this time you're really leaving.**

Casey's breath caught in her throat. Damn Derek and his voice.

**I heard your suitcase say goodbye.  
And as my broken heart lies bleeding,  
They say true love is suicide.**

Casey turned around and started to walk towards him. "Derek-"

**You say you've cried a thousand rivers.  
And now you're swimming for the shore.  
You left me drowning in my tears.**

By this point, Derek had gotten on his knees for dramatic effect. He grabbed hold of Casey's hand and she didn't know what to do. She was kind of embarrassed, because once again they had an audience and after all, he was on his _knees_.

**And you won't save me anymore.**

He sprang back up to his feet and grabbed both sides of her arms.

**I'm praying to God you'll give me one more chance girl!**

Casey almost started laughing, but instead she blushed profusely and looked away. Derek pulled her chin back to face him and he leaned in closer. Now he was singing quieter, almost whispering to her.

**I'll be there for you.  
These five words I swear to you.  
When you breathe,  
I wanna be the air for you.  
I'll be there for you.  
I'd live and I'd die for you.  
Steal the sun from the sky for you.  
Words can't say what love can do.  
I'll be there for you.**

Casey hated being phony, but she still started to cry all the same. Derek smiled and tried to catch her eye as he pushed her hair back. "Sleeve?" he offered her the sleeve of his overshirt, which she took gratefully and blew her nose into it.

"Um, here. Why don't you keep that." He took it off and handed it to Casey. He wasn't completely disgusted, but he really didn't want to wear a snott-ridden shirt. All of a sudden, she smacked him on the head.

"Hey!" He yelled. "What the hell was that-"

Casey laughed and cut him off with a kiss. "Mmmm," the rest of Derek's sentence was lost as he grabbed her and pulled her in closer, lifting her off her feet.

The people in the window erupted into cheers and began to hoot like retarded werewolves.

He lost his grip and she fell out of his arms, but managed to grab onto his shoulder for support. Then she began to laugh hysterically. "Alert the stair monitors! Klutzilla has returned!" she snorted between her hysteria.

"Casey, are you drunk?" Derek mocked. "I'm sorry miss, but you're going to have to recite the alphabet backwards for me."

"Pft! You wouldn't even _know_ if I was doing it correctly!"

"Young lady, do you know what the penalty is for mouthing off to an officer?"

Casey's eyes widened at Derek's playful expression and she began to back away cautiously. "Derek…no."

"PIGGY BACK RIDE!"

Derek charged at Casey and she screamed as she tried to run down the street. But you can't escape the captain of the hockey team. He pounced on her back and tried to maintain his grip, which was difficult to do when he was laughing so hard paired with Casey's raging bull movements.

"Casey! Hold. Still!" Derek grunted out in her crazy efforts to get him off of her back. She was stumbling and he could feel it.

"Abandon ship!" he cried out. They both landed with a crash to the ground before doubling over in laughter.

**Was that a weird way to end it? I thought it would be different and kind of cute. Well, this last chapter certainly had musical-esque qualities haha! I was particularly inspired by "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" as you can see! It was totally ditzy and corny, but I loved writing this and I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to give me any ideas for a new story and please go check out the Dasey videos on youtube! I love you guys so much and thank you times infinity in advance for the lovely reviews! I miss you already, but there's more to come in the next crazy story! LOVE YOU!  
xo, Christina**

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